beset
Americanverb (used with object)
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to attack on all sides; assail.
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to trouble greatly or grievously; to afflict with mental or physical suffering; harass: Even as he was being beset with disasters, he triumphed.
The best ideas are often beset by bureaucratic hurdles.
Even as he was being beset with disasters, he triumphed.
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to surround; hem in.
The village was beset on all sides by dense forest.
Our work will be beset with dangers.
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to set or place upon; bestud.
The gold bracelet she found was beset with jewels.
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Nautical. to surround (a vessel) by ice, so that control of the helm is lost.
verb
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(esp of dangers, temptations, or difficulties) to trouble or harass constantly
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to surround or attack from all sides
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archaic to cover with, esp with jewels
Other Word Forms
- besetment noun
- besetter noun
- prebeset verb (used with object)prebeset, prebesetting
- unbeset adjective
Etymology
Origin of beset
First recorded before 1000; from Middle English besetten, Old English besettan. See be-, set
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.
The cost, while small, felt like what one worker described as the “cherry on top” of a demoralizing work culture beset by layoffs and overwhelming workloads.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The world's largest warship has been beset by problems during its deployment in the Middle East, including an earlier breakdown of its toilet system.
From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026
“Corporations are beset by the same harmful tendencies as investors. When they are at their peak, they reach for the sun,” wrote Victor Niederhoffer in his book “Practical Speculation.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026
But with oil returning to the $100 precipice, private credit markets beset by liquidity concerns, and bond investors back on inflation watch, it may not be long before the metaphorical dams start leaking.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
Built of stout timber, banded with iron, beset with florin spikes, the door did not appear to be locked.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
