What Latin phrase used in English means "seize the day"?

The Latin phrase used in English to mean “seize the day” is carpe diem.

The expression comes from the Roman poet Horace’s Odes, published in 23 BC. It appears in the longer line carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero, conventionally translated as “seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow.” Horace’s advice is not simply a command to pursue pleasure recklessly; it reflects uncertainty about the future and the value of making wise use of the present.

Carpe is an imperative form of the Latin verb carpere, which can mean to pluck, gather, or enjoy. Diem is the accusative form of dies, meaning “day.” Because of that agricultural imagery, “pluck the day” or “harvest the day” can be closer to the phrase’s literal wording than the familiar English translation.

Carpe diem is often confused with memento mori, meaning “remember that you must die.” The two ideas can overlap because awareness of mortality can encourage attention to the present, but they are not translations of one another. The phrase became especially recognizable in modern popular culture through the 1989 film Dead Poets Society.