besiege

verb

be·​siege bi-ˈsēj 

bē-

besieged; besieging

transitive verb

1

military : to surround with armed forces

The army had besieged the castle.

2

a

: to press with requests : importune

… besieging the royal ministers with petitions …

—T. B. Costain

besieged by the media

b

: to cause worry or distress to : beset

doubts besieged him

besieger noun

Synonyms

• attack
• blockade
• encircle
• assault
• beleaguer

Examples of besiege in a Sentence

Customers have besieged the company with questions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile experts have warned that famine could soon take hold of El-Fasher, a city in western Sudan that has been besieged for more than two years. —Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2025

Trump and his team described the U.S. capital as besieged by chaos, and eager to be overrun by law enforcement. —Philip Elliott, Time, 11 Aug. 2025

But in a motion last week, Lively’s team objected to that location, saying that Baldoni’s lawyers were setting up a media ambush, in which Lively would be besieged by paparazzi on her way in and out. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 14 July 2025

At lunch with Paul Giamatti on Monday, Colbert was besieged by supporters. —Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for besiege

• siege

Kids Definition

besiege

verb

be·​siege bi-ˈsēj 

besieged; besieging

1

: to surround with armed forces for the purpose of capturing

2

: to trouble with requests

3

: to cause worry or distress to

doubts besieged him

besieger noun