sei·zure /'sē-zhər/ n: the act, fact, or process of seizing: as
a: the seizing of property that involves meaningful interference with a person's possessory interest in it
seizure of evidence found in plain view see also plain view 2
◇ The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. It requires that a warrant may issue only upon probable cause, and that the warrant particularly describe the persons or things to be seized. Not all seizures, however, require a warrant. A seizure that constitutes an arrest requires probable cause to be reasonable, and a stop usu. requires reasonable suspicion of the particular person or persons stopped, although stops like those at drunk driving checkpoints may be justified by a plan that places explicit and neutral limitations on the conduct of police officers with no requirement of individualized suspicion.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.