siege
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.
Idioms about siege
lay siege to, to besiege: The army laid siege to the city for over a month.
Origin of siege
1synonym study For siege
Other words from siege
- siege·a·ble, adjective
- un·sieged, adjective
Words Nearby siege
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use siege in a sentence
Dating apps are using images from the siege to ban rioters’ accountsThe IPO is expected in February, Bloomberg has reported.
Bumble gave women more power in dating. Now the app is giving women power in the boardroom. | Jena McGregor | February 5, 2021 | Washington PostHe is also the youngest founder and the one whose company is the most under siege.
With Bezos out as Amazon CEO, Zuckerberg is the last man standing | Elizabeth Dwoskin | February 3, 2021 | Washington PostThe siege of the Capitol came close to being far worse, and there are indications that some rioters intended to harm lawmakers.
It’s time to take domestic nuclear terrorism seriously | Jayita Sarkar | January 27, 2021 | Washington PostSome lawmakers are now taken aback by how Irving managed the siege.
House security chief said lawmaker wariness of military at Capitol drove his resistance to early request for National Guard | Rosalind Helderman, Beth Reinhard, Karoun Demirjian, Carol D. Leonnig | January 19, 2021 | Washington PostOnce shepherded to the secure location, Pence remained there throughout the entire siege, even as most key congressional leaders were evacuated to an off-site secure location, according to administration and congressional aides.
How the rioters who stormed the Capitol came dangerously close to Pence | Ashley Parker, Carol D. Leonnig, Paul Kane, Emma Brown | January 15, 2021 | Washington Post
And even as the bloody siege continues, so, too, do signs of life.
It has long been a battle cry in conservative circles that Christmas is under 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 | THE DAILY BEASTAs a cafe in Sydney, Australia came under siege by a hostage-taking gunman on Monday, those nearby attempted to flee the area.
In Defense of Uber’s Awful Sydney Surge Pricing | Olivia Nuzzi | December 16, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTPurely by chance, Anna Coren had landed in Sydney just as the chocolate shop siege began.
After an eight weeks' siege, a breach having been made, the city surrendered, and a month later the fort followed the example.
This is a conquered city, virtually if not nominally in a state of siege, without assignable period.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyDuring the siege of Acre he commanded the covering force, and pushed reconnaissances far and wide.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonTo pull through such a siege, the old settlers usually did much better than the new.
The Homesteader | Oscar MicheauxAs the siege progressed besiegers and besieged actually came to know each other by sight.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
British Dictionary definitions for siege
/ (siːdʒ) /
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
(tr) to besiege or assail
Origin of siege
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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