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 of besiege

• attack
• blockade
• encircle
• assault
• beleaguer

Examples of besiege in a Sentence

Customers have besieged the company with questions.

Recent Examples on the Web

International climate diplomacy, since its high-water mark at Paris, in 2015, has been besieged by the fossil-fuel industry and its proxy governments, which now include, of course, the United States, historically the Earth’s chief producer of CO2. —Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2025

Haiti, the soccer-loving Caribbean nation that has been besieged by gang violence and economic instability, learned on Friday which teams will be in its group for the 2026 World Cup. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 Dec. 2025

Pirro pushed back and went on to reiterate the Administration’s support for the deployments, characterizing the city as besieged by violent crime. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 27 Nov. 2025

Vikings quarterbacks have been besieged by injury this year. —Jordan Sigler, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 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