siege

[seej]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR siege ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the defenders and thereby making capture possible.

any prolonged or persistent effort to overcome resistance.

a series of illnesses, troubles, or annoyances besetting a person or group: a siege of head colds.

a prolonged period of trouble or annoyance.

Also sedge. Ornithology.

a flock of herons.
the station of a heron at prey.

the shelf or floor of a glassmaking furnace on which the glass pots are set.

Obsolete.

a seat, especially one used by a person of distinction, as a throne.
station as to rank or class.

verb (used with object), sieged, sieg·ing.

to assail or assault; besiege.

Idioms

lay siege to, to besiege: The army laid siege to the city for over a month.

Origin of siege

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English sege < Old French: seat, noun derivative of siegier < Vulgar Latin *sedicāre to set, derivative of Latin sedēre to sit¹; (v.) Middle English segen, derivative of the noun

Related formssiege·a·ble, adjectiveun·sieged, adjective

Synonyms for siege

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR siege ON THESAURUS.COM

1. Siege, blockade are terms for prevention of free movement to or from a place during wartime. Siege implies surrounding a city and cutting off its communications, and usually includes direct assaults on its defenses. Blockade is applied more often to naval operations that block all commerce, especially to cut off food and other supplies from defenders.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for siege

closure, restriction, stoppage, roadblock, barricade, siege, encirclement, beset, bedevil, plague, annoy, clog, bar, wall, stop, snag, obstruction, obstacle, impediment, hindrance

Examples from the Web for siege

Contemporary Examples of siege

The Kurds claimed at least 100 Islamic militants were killed in the two-day battle to lift the siege.
Iraqi Kurds Get Their Groove Back, End Siege of Mount Sinjar
Jamie Dettmer
December 20, 2014
Steve Garth, who works in Circular Quay, was inside the Cartier jewelry store near the café when the siege began.
Jihadi Siege in Sydney Ends in Gunfight
Courtney Subramanian, Lennox Samuels, Chris Allbritton
December 15, 2014
The Siege of Boston marked the opening phase of the American Revolution.
The British Royals Reinvade Brooklyn: William and Kate Come Watch Basketball on Historic Battle Site
Justin Jones
December 6, 2014
In late August, U.S. airpower and Iranian-backed militias broke the ISIS siege on the town of Amerli.
Iran Orders Elite Troops: Lay Off U.S. Forces in Iraq
Eli Lake
October 6, 2014
In Iraq, Tehran was our silent partner, working to break an ISIS siege and edging out Maliki.
How Iran Could Become Our Shadow Enemy in the Syria ISIS War
Jacob Siegel
September 16, 2014

Historical Examples of siege

The return from this Crusade was as disastrous as that from the siege of Troy.
Cameos from English History, from Rollo to Edward II
Charlotte Mary Yonge
After the first day of the siege there was scant leisure for funeral rites.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
One thousand of the best men in the fleet were sent to assist in the siege.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
They used every device of ingenious minds to push the siege.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
Evidently the enemy was bent on the siege of Fort Providence.
The Field of Ice
Jules Verne

British Dictionary definitions for siege

siege

noun

the offensive operations carried out to capture a fortified place by surrounding it, severing its communications and supply lines, and deploying weapons against it
(as modifier)siege warfare

a persistent attempt to gain something

a long tedious period, as of illness, etc

obsolete a seat or throne

lay siege to to besiege

verb

(tr) to besiege or assail

Word Origin for siege

C13: from Old French sege a seat, from Vulgar Latin sēdicāre (unattested) to sit down, from Latin sedēre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for siege

early 13c., "a seat" (as in Siege Perilous, early 13c., the vacant seat at Arthur's Round Table, according to prophecy to be occupied safely only by the knight destined to find the Holy Grail), from Old French sege "seat, throne," from Vulgar Latin *sedicum "seat," from Latin sedere "sit" (see sedentary). The military sense is attested from c.1300; the notion is of an army "sitting down" before a fortress.