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

Kamal Adwan was besieged and raided by Israeli forces a year ago. —Wafaa Shurafa and Bassem Mroue, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2024

The site was the place where Trump spoke to the crowd that then went to besiege the Capitol on January 6, 2021. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 23 Oct. 2024

And what is the Trump campaign producing if not fantastical propaganda intended to conjure a false image of Joe Biden’s America as a dark, dangerous place on the verge of destruction, besieged by immigrants, and savable only by one heroic man? —Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024

By mid-June, Israeli forces had surrounded Beirut, and for the first time, Israel was besieging an Arab capital. —Ibrahim Al-Marashi / Made By History, TIME, 1 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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