besiege

verb

be·​siege bi-ˈsēj How to pronounce besiege (audio)
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

Examples of besiege in a Sentence

Customers have besieged the company with questions.
Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, the cease-fire planned for at least four days largely held, allowing hundreds of trucks carrying aid and some fuel into the densely populated enclave that has been besieged and bombarded for weeks since Hamas’ surprise terror attack on Oct. 7. Anna Schecter, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2023 Many facilities, besieged and surrounded, have already been forced to shut down or evacuate. Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023 In Gaza, bombed and besieged for the past month, clean water is in critically short supply. WSJ, 7 Nov. 2023 The contrast between the destructive power of the Israeli military’s weapons and Gaza’s impoverished, densely populated society, where unemployment neared 50 percent before the war began and which Israel has besieged for three weeks, has been on full display this week. Aaron Boxerman, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2023 The rampage is the worst mass shooting in America this year and is one of the deadliest ever in a nation besieged by an epidemic of gun violence. Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2023 Essentials like water and fuel are increasingly scarce as Israel bombards and besieges the enclave in response to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that rules Gaza. Edward Wong, New York Times, 27 Oct. 2023 This was one reason the battle of Mosul took so many months, as defenders fought amid the ruins, emerging from the wreckage to mount aggressive counterattacks, besieging headquarters and logistics installations from unexpected directions. David Kilcullen, Foreign Affairs, 23 Oct. 2023 Advertisement Public Safety For subscribers 20 years ago, San Diego was besieged by a massive firestorm. David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'besiege.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of besiege was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near besiege

Cite this Entry

“Besiege.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/besiege. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

besiege

verb
be·​siege bi-ˈsēj How to pronounce besiege (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on besiege

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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