siege

1 of 2

noun

ˈsēj 

 also  ˈsēzh

1

a

: a military blockade of a city or fortified place to compel it to surrender

b

: a persistent or serious attack (as of illness)

2

obsolete : a seat of distinction : throne

siege

2 of 2

verb

sieged; sieging

transitive verb

: to lay siege to : to attack militarily : besiege

Insurgents rampaged through the countryside, sacked haciendas and mills, occupied small towns, and sieged the largest cities, Cusco and La Paz.

—Sergio Serulnikov

Phrases

lay siege to

1

: to besiege militarily

2

: to pursue diligently or persistently

Synonyms

Noun

• access
• attack
• bout
• case
• fit
• seizure
• spell
• turn

Examples of siege in a Sentence

Noun

The castle was built to withstand a siege.

The city is in a state of siege.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The World Health Organization says 21 patients died in the hospital during Israel's recent 14-day siege, and that more than 100 patients were trapped without enough food or water in squalid conditions. —Aya Batrawy, NPR, 6 Apr. 2024

Israel declared a full-scale siege of Gaza in a bid to oust the militant group Hamas, which was behind the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. —Claire Parker, Washington Post, 2 Apr. 2024

The deadly siege led all three major U.S. airlines to cancel their commercial service as of March 4 into Port-au-Prince’s Toussaint Louverture International Airport. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 31 Mar. 2024

The hospital has said multiple patients have died as a result of the siege. —Matt Gutman, ABC News, 24 Mar. 2024

Over 330 people were killed in the Beslan school siege in 2004. —NBC News, 24 Mar. 2024

The report said the crossbeam and a bright orange noose were added during the 1 p.m. hour on Jan. 6, as the rioting and the siege of the Capitol began. —Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2024

These images are in stark contrast to the ones that the Kremlin’s propaganda machine has sought to project, claiming that the siege of Mariupol spared civilians and that the occupied city is now thriving under Russian rule. —Constant Méheut, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024

In Al-Rimal, the neighborhood that surrounds Al-Shifa, the siege on the hospital has trapped residents in their homes. —Ameera Harouda, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2024

Verb

While the attempt to siege the Capitol on Jan. 6. was foiled, the attack -- and the subsequent attempt to recast the narrative in the intervening months -- did not come without consequences, according to political scientist William Howell. —Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 6 Jan. 2022

After that, the blacks could surround and siege King’s Landing and force the greens’ surrender. —Erica Gonzales, ELLE, 23 Oct. 2022

Russia's military has reportedly moved 12 of 14 elite units Mariupol to siege the city. —Fox News, 25 Apr. 2022

In the Ukraine conflict, reports of civilian casualties have dominated the headlines as Russian troops siege cities around the country. —Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sege, from Anglo-French, seat, blockade, from Old French *siegier to seat, settle, from Vulgar Latin *sedicare, from Latin sedēre to sit — more at sit

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing siege

• lay siege to
• siege mentality
• under siege

Kids Definition

siege

noun

ˈsēj 

1

: the placing of an army around a fortified place or city to force it to surrender

2

: a lasting attack (as of illness)