verb
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to surround (a fortified area, esp a city) with military forces to bring about its surrender
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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.
One scene that stuck with me: As Union troops besiege Atlanta, shells are exploding, people flee in panic.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2025
The feeling of being in a great city as raging infernos besiege it but don’t quite subsume it?
From Slate • Jan. 9, 2025
But it has stopped the Russians from moving on to besiege the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
From New York Times • May 17, 2023
That decision to besiege rather than directly attack the giant Azovstal plant means that “many Russian units remain fixed in the city and cannot be redeployed,” the British assessment said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2022
"There is no other way to besiege Riverrun, yet still, that will be their undoing. Two or three thousand horse."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
