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 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 Think about it: the United States, unable to help two major allies because of election-year politics, especially Ukraine, which remains under siege by Vladimir Putin. Howard Kurtz, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2024 Cap-Haitien is more than 100 miles from Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where the airport has been under siege by gangs amid fighting between the clans and police in the surrounding area. Colin McCullough, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Normality mingles with signs of collective stress and a city genuinely under siege. Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Not long after Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, McConnell traveled to Kyiv, to express his solidarity with that people under siege. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 7 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 29 Apr. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!