besieging

be·siege

B0208700 (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.

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[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.]

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be·siege′ment n.be·sieg′er n.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

besieging - the action of an armed force that surrounds a fortified place and isolates it while continuing to attackbeleaguering, military blockade, siegeblockade, encirclement - a war measure that isolates some area of importance to the enemyarmed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"