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siege

Syllabification: (siege)
Pronunciation: /sēj/
Translate siege | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of siege

noun

  • a military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies, with the aim of compelling the surrender of those inside:Verdun had withstood a siege of ten weeks [as modifier]:siege warfare
  • an operation in which a police or other force surround a building and cut off supplies, with the aim of forcing an armed person to surrender.
  • a prolonged period of misfortune:I’ve been having a siege of headaches

Phrases

lay siege to

conduct a siege of (a place):government forces laid siege to the building figurativethe press laid siege to her apartment

under siege

(of a place) undergoing a siege:the fort had been under siege by guerrillas since June figurativewe are under siege from budget cuts

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French sege, from asegier 'besiege'

i before e except after c (as in thief).

siege in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of siege in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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