siege
1 of 2noun
ˈsēj 
also ˈsēzh
1
a
: a military blockade of a city or fortified place to compel it to surrender
b
: a persistent or serious attack (as of illness)
2
obsolete : a seat of distinction : throne
siege
2 of 2verb
sieged; sieging
transitive verb
: to lay siege to : to attack militarily : besiege
Insurgents rampaged through the countryside, sacked haciendas and mills, occupied small towns, and sieged the largest cities, Cusco and La Paz.
Sergio Serulnikov
Sergio Serulnikov
Synonyms
Noun
- access
- attack
- bout
- case
- fit
- seizure
- spell
- turn
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun The castle was built to withstand a siege. The city is in a state of siege.
Recent Examples on the Web Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 30 Oct. 2017 The breach is expected to end a nightmare siege for tens of thousands of people trapped in a handful of neighborhoods controlled by the government and a nearby airport. Bassem Mroue, chicagotribune.com, 5 Sep. 2017 Though Hernán Cortés, the conquistador charged with taking over what is now Mexico, initially entered the city of Tenochtitlan without resistance, before long, violence broke out and the Spanish staged a nearly three-month-long siege of the city. Erin Blakemore, Smithsonian, 6 July 2017 Weinstein and his reputation appeared to still be under siege Tuesday. James Rainey, NBC News, 9 Oct. 2017 To have access to Dave, who is one of the nine survivors of the final siege, was huge to have. Kara Warner, PEOPLE.com, 25 Sep. 2017 Branch Davidians The Branch Davidians broke off from the Davidian Seventh-Day Aventists in 1955 but didn’t make headlines till the infamous Waco siege of 1993. Eliza Thompson, Cosmopolitan, 14 July 2017 The school has been under siege since September, when a social media post showed nine St. Teresa’s students posed with beer pong cups arranged as a swastika. Mará Rose Williams, kansascity, 23 Oct. 2017 Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine (Doubleday) uncovers a 20th-century Ukraine under siege. Sloane Crosley, Vanities, 22 Oct. 2017 See More
Noun
The siege occurred on the night of September 11, when 20 men armed with grenade launchers and machine guns stormed the American compound and set it on fire. Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 30 Oct. 2017 The breach is expected to end a nightmare siege for tens of thousands of people trapped in a handful of neighborhoods controlled by the government and a nearby airport. Bassem Mroue, chicagotribune.com, 5 Sep. 2017 Though Hernán Cortés, the conquistador charged with taking over what is now Mexico, initially entered the city of Tenochtitlan without resistance, before long, violence broke out and the Spanish staged a nearly three-month-long siege of the city. Erin Blakemore, Smithsonian, 6 July 2017 Weinstein and his reputation appeared to still be under siege Tuesday. James Rainey, NBC News, 9 Oct. 2017 To have access to Dave, who is one of the nine survivors of the final siege, was huge to have. Kara Warner, PEOPLE.com, 25 Sep. 2017 Branch Davidians The Branch Davidians broke off from the Davidian Seventh-Day Aventists in 1955 but didn’t make headlines till the infamous Waco siege of 1993. Eliza Thompson, Cosmopolitan, 14 July 2017 The school has been under siege since September, when a social media post showed nine St. Teresa’s students posed with beer pong cups arranged as a swastika. Mará Rose Williams, kansascity, 23 Oct. 2017 Anne Applebaum’s Red Famine (Doubleday) uncovers a 20th-century Ukraine under siege. Sloane Crosley, Vanities, 22 Oct. 2017 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English sege, from Anglo-French, seat, blockade, from Old French *siegier to seat, settle, from Vulgar Latin *sedicare, from Latin sedēre to sit — more at sit
First Known Use
Noun
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing siege
Kids Definition
siege
noun
ˈsēj
: the act of moving an army around a fortified place to capture it
siege
noun
1
as in attack
a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder a devastating siege of typhoid fever hit the city Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- attack
- seizure
- bout
- spell
- case
- access
- fit
- spasm
- turn
- frenzy
- convulsion
- pang
- relapse
- recurrence
- collapse
- breakdown
- agitation
- eclampsia
- paroxysm
- prostration
- throe
- brainstorm
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- arrest
- relief
- remission
2
as in blockade
the cutting off of an area by military means to stop the flow of people or supplies after a siege of six weeks, the city of Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant and his Union forces Synonyms & Similar Words
- blockade
- encirclement
- quarantine
- internment
- isolation
- beleaguerment
- leaguer
- investment
- containment
- seclusion
- insulation
- segregation
- counterblockade
- sequestration
- confinement
- encompassment
- incarceration