besiege

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besiege

to crowd around; beset, pester, harass, hound: The actor was besieged by adoring fans.

Not to be confused with:

beseech – pray, petition, beg eagerly for; implore urgently: I beseech you to forgive me.

be·siege

(bĭ-sēj′)

tr.v. be·sieged, be·sieg·ing, be·sieg·es

1. To surround with hostile forces: The soldiers besieged the walled city.

2. To crowd around; hem in: Fans besieged the star as she came out of the hotel.

3. To harass or overwhelm, as with requests: a shop owner besieged by job applications.

[Middle English besegen, probably alteration of assegen, from Old French assegier, from Vulgar Latin *assedicāre : Latin ad-, ad- + Vulgar Latin *sedicāre, to sit; see siege.]

be·siege′ment n.

be·sieg′er 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.

besiege

(bɪˈsiːdʒ)

vb (tr)

1. (Military) to surround (a fortified area, esp a city) with military forces to bring about its surrender

2. to crowd round; hem in

3. to overwhelm, as with requests or queries

beˈsieger n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•siege

(bɪˈsidʒ)

v.t. -sieged, -sieg•ing.

1. to lay siege to.

2. to crowd around; crowd in upon; surround.

3. to importune, as with requests.

[1250–1300]

be•siege′ment, n.

be•sieg′er, n.

besiege

Past participle: besieged
Gerund: besieging

Imperative
besiege
besiege

Present
I besiege
you besiege
he/she/it besieges
we besiege
you besiege
they besiege

Preterite
I besieged
you besieged
he/she/it besieged
we besieged
you besieged
they besieged

Present Continuous
I am besieging
you are besieging
he/she/it is besieging
we are besieging
you are besieging
they are besieging

Present Perfect
I have besieged
you have besieged
he/she/it has besieged
we have besieged
you have besieged
they have besieged

Past Continuous
I was besieging
you were besieging
he/she/it was besieging
we were besieging
you were besieging
they were besieging

Past Perfect
I had besieged
you had besieged
he/she/it had besieged
we had besieged
you had besieged
they had besieged

Future
I will besiege
you will besiege
he/she/it will besiege
we will besiege
you will besiege
they will besiege

Future Perfect
I will have besieged
you will have besieged
he/she/it will have besieged
we will have besieged
you will have besieged
they will have besieged

Future Continuous
I will be besieging
you will be besieging
he/she/it will be besieging
we will be besieging
you will be besieging
they will be besieging

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been besieging
you have been besieging
he/she/it has been besieging
we have been besieging
you have been besieging
they have been besieging

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been besieging
you will have been besieging
he/she/it will have been besieging
we will have been besieging
you will have been besieging
they will have been besieging

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been besieging
you had been besieging
he/she/it had been besieging
we had been besieging
you had been besieging
they had been besieging

Conditional
I would besiege
you would besiege
he/she/it would besiege
we would besiege
you would besiege
they would besiege

Past Conditional
I would have besieged
you would have besieged
he/she/it would have besieged
we would have besieged
you would have besieged
they would have besieged

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	besiege - surround so as to force to give up; "The Turks besieged Vienna" circumvent, hem in, beleaguer, surround attack, assail - launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week" seal off, blockade - impose a blockade on ebb - hem in fish with stakes and nets so as to prevent them from going back into the sea with the ebb
	2.	besiege - cause to feel distressed or worried; "She was besieged by so many problems that she got discouraged" distress - cause mental pain to; "The news of her child's illness distressed the mother"
	3.	besiege - harass, as with questions or requests; "The press photographers besieged the movie star" importune, insist - beg persistently and urgently; "I importune you to help them"

besiege

verb

1. harass, worry, trouble, harry, bother, disturb, plague, hound, hassle (informal), badger, pester, importune, bend someone's ear (informal), give someone grief (Brit. & S. African), beleaguer She was besieged by the press and the public.

2. surround, confine, enclose, blockade, encompass, beset, encircle, close in on, hem in, shut in, lay siege to, hedge in, environ, beleaguer, invest (rare) The main part of the army moved to besiege the town.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

besiege

verb

1. To surround with hostile troops:

beleaguer, beset, blockade, invest, siege.

Idiom: lay siege to .

2. To surround and advance upon:

close in, enclose, envelop, hedge, hem.

3. To trouble persistently from or as if from all sides:

badger, bedevil, beleaguer, beset, harass, harry, hound, importune, pester, plague, solicit.

Translations

يُحاصِريُمطر

obléhatobtěžovatzavalit

belejreplage

belagern bestürmen

asediar sitiar

assiéger assaillir

ráîast á meî, kaffæra meîsitja um

assediare stringere d'assedio

apgultiapipiltiapsupti

apbērtaplenktapsēstielenkt

kringsette overvelde

obliehať

ablukaya almakbaşına üşüşmeketrafını çevirmekkuşatmak

包围

besiege

[bɪˈsiːdʒ] VT (Mil) (fig) → asediar
we were besieged with inquiries → nos inundaron con solicitudes de información
we are besieged with calls → nos están llamando incesantemente

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

besiege

[bɪˈsiːdʒ] vt

[+ town] → assiéger

[+ person, service] (fig) → assaillir
to be besieged by requests, to be besieged with requests → être assailli(e) de demandes

besiege

(Mil) town → belagern

(fig) → belagern; (with information, offers) → überschütten, überhäufen; (= pester: with letters, questions) → bestürmen, bedrängen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

besiege

[bɪˈsiːdʒ] vt (Mil) (fig) → assediare, assalire
we were besieged with inquiries → siamo stati tempestati di domande

besiege

(biˈsiːdʒ) verb

1. to surround (eg a town) with an army.

2. (with with) to overwhelm with. The reporters besieged me with questions about the plane crash.

besiege is spelt with -ie-.

References in classic literature ?

Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces; the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

The rule is, not to besiege walled cities if it can possibly be avoided.

View in context

The army, therefore, continued to besiege Boston, preventing the enemy from obtaining supplies of provisions, but without taking any immediate measures to get possession of the town.

View in context

But the presence of a Christian in the city could not long be tolerated, and the Foullans threatened to besiege it.

View in context

DERA GHAZI KHAN -- An alleged death in custody led to an attempt by an angry mob to besiege the Jhoke Utra Police Station on Sunday.