beleaguerment


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be·lea·guer

 (bĭ-lē′gər)
tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers
1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems.
2. To surround with troops; besiege: The enemy beleaguered the enclave.

[Probably Dutch belegeren : be-, around (from Middle Dutch bie; see ambhi in Indo-European roots) + leger, camp; see legh- in Indo-European roots.]

be·lea′guer·ment n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

beleaguerment

(bɪˈliːɡərmənt)
n
a blockade or siege
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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beleaguerment

noun
A prolonged surrounding of an objective by hostile troops:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
References in periodicals archive ?
KEMPTON: 5.00 Beleaguerment (D Lanigan to Archie Watson), 5.00 Good Tyne Girl (R Fahey to Mrs H Main), 5.30 Ace Combat (Joseph P O'Brien to M Madgwick), 5.30 Scofflaw (R Fahey to P Evans), 6.00 Mokaatil (Owen Burrows to I Williams), 6.00 Ultimate Avenue (Ed Walker to D M Simcock), 6.30 Time Shanakill (A&G Botti to A & G Botti), 7.30 Atalanta Queen (M Appleby to R Brisland).
The centre's current beleaguerment is, arguably, a justifiable punishment.