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

Israeli settlers have been besieging homes in the Palestinian village of Qusra for more than a week, with the Israeli military failing to end the violent intimidation campaign. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 17 Aug. 2026

The second was navigating a WNBA game with a lineup besieged by injury. — James Boyd, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026

Saunders is one of the most senior Australian Catholics to be convicted in a global clergy abuse scandal that has besieged the Vatican for years. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

The Pratts are in serious crisis, besieged by bullies and bad neighbors outside of their house and foundation-crumbling dysfunction inside it. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026

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