siege

[ seej ]

/ sidʒ /

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See synonyms for: siege / sieged / sieging 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.

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Idioms about siege

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

Origin of siege

First recorded in 1175–1225; (noun) Middle English sege, from Old French: “seat,” noun derivative of siegier, from unattested Vulgar Latin sedicāre “to set,” derivative of Latin sedēre “to sit” (see sit¹); (verb) Middle English segen, derivative of the noun

synonym study for siege

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM siege

siege·a·ble, adjectiveun·sieged, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use siege in a sentence

The Secret Service declined to comment on any element of Pence’s movements in the Capitol or his evacuation, other than to say that he was “secure” during the siege.
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
It’s hard to think about cars at a time when our health, our city, and our country is under siege.
Top rides for 2021|Joe Phillips|January 15, 2021|Washington Blade
Instead, in a statement, he denounced the violence that unfolded during the hours-long siege, which included the fatal injuring of a Capitol Police officer and the death of a woman shot by police after she breached the complex.
The crowd outside the Capitol last week included Rep. Bob Good’s district director|Meagan Flynn|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
Smith, 40, was distributing hand-warmers to homeless people nearby when the siege started.
Upset by veterans who stormed the Capitol, these vets decided to clean up trash the mob left on the streets of D.C.|Sydney Page|January 14, 2021|Washington Post

The lockdown room was a safe space for lawmakers under siege.
Coronavirus cases among lawmakers who sheltered in lockdown show one vaccine dose may not immediately protect against infection|Ben Guarino|January 13, 2021|Washington Post
As it is, the Austrian Army is not annihilated; only bottled into Prag, and will need sieging.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XVIII. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
Italy, all but some sieging of strong-places, may be considered as lost for the present.
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. IX. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
Well for them, that Insurrection has only pikes and axes; no right sieging tools!
The French Revolution|Thomas Carlyle
What could such tender creatures have done at such a place as the sieging of Charlestown?
Horse-Shoe Robinson|John Pendleton Kennedy

British Dictionary definitions for siege

siege

/ (siːdʒ) /

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

siege

Idioms about siege

Origin of siege

synonym study for siege

OTHER WORDS FROM siege

Words related to siege

How to use siege in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for siege

Word Origin for siege