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

The funeral meats were not yet cold when Mahler-Werfel began to be besieged by men who wished to take charge of her. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025

Thousands of structures have been damaged in the fires that have besieged Los Angeles. —Maxwell Williams, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025

Earlier this week, President Trump pardoned 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters who had besieged our nation’s capitol. —Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 4 Feb. 2025

Hegseth, who has been besieged with scandals after Trump tapped him to helm the Pentagon, now faces a rocky path to Senate confirmation. —Avery Lotz, Axios, 23 Jan. 2025

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