under siege
idiom
1
: surrounded with soldiers or police officers in a siege
The city was under siege and food was getting scarce.
2
: very seriously attacked or criticized by many people
The newspaper has been under siege lately by its readers for printing a false story.
Examples of under siege in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
June 2, 2024 Southern California appeared to be under siege from a blockade.
—
Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 2 June 2024
Hezbollah, meanwhile, has attempted to demonstrate its support for Hamas, now under siege from Israel in Gaza after its October 7 attack, by firing rockets almost daily at Israeli towns and military targets, displacing nearly 80,000 Israelis and killing a half dozen civilians.
—Maha Yahya, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2024
Columbia has spent months under siege, bombarded by public demands from protesters, faculty members, alumni, members of Congress and religious groups since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that precipitated the war.
—Alan Blinder, New York Times, 10 May 2024
If that’s not enough, we’re told democracy is under siege.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Since then, Port-au-Prince has remained under siege.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
In the northwest Georgia city of Rome, Trump — now the presumptive GOP nominee after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley exited the race last week — conjured an apocalyptic vision of a nation under siege from invading migrants and economic blight.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
And no one feels more under siege than quarterback Dak Prescott, who is the team’s best leader and also the biggest scapegoat for their playoff failure.
—Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024
But leaving the city isn’t an option this time; the airport, under siege by gangs, has been forced to close.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
Peter S. Goodman, New York Times, 2 June 2024
Hezbollah, meanwhile, has attempted to demonstrate its support for Hamas, now under siege from Israel in Gaza after its October 7 attack, by firing rockets almost daily at Israeli towns and military targets, displacing nearly 80,000 Israelis and killing a half dozen civilians.
—Maha Yahya, Foreign Affairs, 24 Apr. 2024
Columbia has spent months under siege, bombarded by public demands from protesters, faculty members, alumni, members of Congress and religious groups since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that precipitated the war.
—Alan Blinder, New York Times, 10 May 2024
If that’s not enough, we’re told democracy is under siege.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Since then, Port-au-Prince has remained under siege.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2024
In the northwest Georgia city of Rome, Trump — now the presumptive GOP nominee after former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley exited the race last week — conjured an apocalyptic vision of a nation under siege from invading migrants and economic blight.
—Alexandra Banner, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
And no one feels more under siege than quarterback Dak Prescott, who is the team’s best leader and also the biggest scapegoat for their playoff failure.
—Clarence E. Hill Jr., Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Mar. 2024
But leaving the city isn’t an option this time; the airport, under siege by gangs, has been forced to close.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'under siege.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near under siege
Cite this Entry
“Under siege.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/under%20siege. Accessed 15 Jun. 2024.
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