besieged; besieging
1
military
: to surround with armed forces
The army had besieged the castle.
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
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.
Copy Citation
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
More from Merriam-Webster on besiege
Nglish: Translation of besiege for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of besiege for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share