Taking hold of= picking up - essentially not a rapid action. Grabbing and seizing are more aggressive actions. You would grab or seize something quickly and sometimes by taking it from another person. However, you may or may not then use the item to hurt somebody else. You might just seize a weapon (eg. A knife) from someone to ensure they can’t use it themselves. I hope that’s a little helpful at least.

When you say "I was grabbing a knife", were you holding it? = handle I grabbed the knife on its handle And what about "I was seizing/grasping a knife"?? More common to use: Snatch/ take/grab/

Reaching for it. Hopefully not to commit murder though!! 🥺

"grabbing" is the process of reaching and taking. It implies that the action is quick and somewhat impolite. Seizing is about the same but would be used more often in geopolitics: "Russia seized Crimea". I would not say that I "seized the knife", unless someone was trying to prevent me.

Grabbing something is not an aggressive action and does not mean you're holding it. It means you're going to get something and you're in a bit of a hurry eg. I'll grab my coat and meet you at the car Let me grab a coffee and we'll start the meeting John grabbed the glass just as it fell off the table