verb
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to surround (a fortified area, esp a city) with military forces to bring about its surrender
-
to crowd round; hem in
-
to overwhelm, as with requests or queries
Other Word Forms
- besiegement noun
- besieger noun
- besiegingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of besiege
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English bysegen; be-, siege
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We were besieged inside our house and couldn't leave," she recalls, describing how power, water and internet connections were all severed.
From BBC
Donald Trump held a rally in Waco, Texas, on Saturday, near the site where dozens of members of a religious cult died by fire as federal agents besieged their compound 30 years ago.
From New York Times
Maksym Notchenko, 41, a former worker of Azovstal, watched from a distance as the plant was besieged with Russian strikes: “It was like pieces of your body were being cut off.”
From Seattle Times
Mr. Xi has pursued a harder stance against what he calls an American effort to contain China’s rise, portraying China as a nation besieged — much as Mr. Putin has done in speeches to Russians.
From New York Times
Unable to get updates from county officials besieged by breached levees and submerged roads, residents of the remote community fell to their own devices.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
