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

• beleaguer
• blockade
• invest
• leaguer [archaic]

Examples of besiege in a Sentence

Customers have besieged the company with questions.

Recent Examples on the Web

Maria accepts the role; because of her age, Christine has to sign a waiver, and Maria is next seen witnessing a scrum of paparazzi besieging Marlon Brando (played by Matt Dillon) on location. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2025

Well-wishers so besieged Moore that the actress had to be informed formally that the engraving process was complete. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 24 Feb. 2025

Even with these advances, however, there continue to rug-pulls, hacks, breaches, and other negative and unethical events besieging the sector. —Sean Stein Smith, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025

In recent days, Tesla showrooms in the U.S. have been besieged by protesters and vehicles vandalized on the street. —Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 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