Dic: seize up, seize something up

• We are all born flexible but as we grow older, we tend to seize up a little.
• She put diesel fuel, instead of petrol, into the tank causing the motor to seize up.
• The engine seized up, and the car coasted to a stop.
• My knee seized up in the middle of a football game.

PHRASAL VERB | If a part of your body seizes up, it suddenly stops working, because you have strained it or because you are getting old.

PHRASAL VERB | If something such as an engine seizes up, it stops working, because it has not been properly cared for.

to freeze or halt; to grind suddenly to a stop

cf. seize something up: to grab or take something.

• The crow seized the freshly hatched chick up and flew away.
• The huge bird seized up the tiny chick.

.... Cobuild, http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/seize+up