siege
Use Siege in a sentence
noun
1.
the act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to isolate it from help and supplies, for the purpose of lessening the resistance of the defenders and thereby making capture possible.
2.
any prolonged or persistent effort to overcome resistance.
3.
a series of illnesses, troubles, or annoyances besetting a person or group: a siege of head colds.
4.
a prolonged period of trouble or annoyance.
5.
verb (used with object)
8.
to assail or assault; besiege.
00:10
Siege
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
| to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax. |
9.
lay siege to, to besiege: The army laid siege to the city for over a month.
Origin:
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English sege < Old French: seat, noun derivative of siegier < Vulgar Latin *sedicāre to set, derivative of Latin sedēre to sit1; (v.) Middle English segen, derivative of the noun
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English sege < Old French: seat, noun derivative of siegier < Vulgar Latin *sedicāre to set, derivative of Latin sedēre to sit1; (v.) Middle English segen, derivative of the noun
Related forms
siege·a·ble, adjective
un·sieged, adjective
Synonyms
1. Siege, blockade are terms for prevention of free movement to or from a place during wartime. Siege implies surrounding a city and cutting off its communications, and usually includes direct assaults on its defenses. Blockade is applied more often to naval operations that block all commerce, especially to cut off food and other supplies from defenders.
1. Siege, blockade are terms for prevention of free movement to or from a place during wartime. Siege implies surrounding a city and cutting off its communications, and usually includes direct assaults on its defenses. Blockade is applied more often to naval operations that block all commerce, especially to cut off food and other supplies from defenders.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To siege
Collins
World English Dictionary
siege (siːdʒ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. the offensive operations carried out to capture a fortified place by surrounding it, severing its communications and supply lines, and deploying weapons against it |
| b. (as modifier): siege warfare | |
| 2. | a persistent attempt to gain something |
| 3. | a long tedious period, as of illness, etc |
| 4. | obsolete a seat or throne |
| 5. | lay siege to to besiege |
| —vb | |
| 6. | (tr) to besiege or assail |
| [C13: from Old French sege a seat, from Vulgar Latin sēdicāre (unattested) to sit down, from Latin sedēre] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
siege
early 13c., "a seat" (as in Siege Perilous, the vacant seat at Arthur's Round Table, to be occupied safely only by the knight destined to find the Holy Grail, c.1230), from O.Fr. sege "seat, throne," from V.L. *sedicum "seat," from L. sedere "sit" (see sedentary). The
military sense is attested from c.1300; the notion is of an army "sitting down" before a fortress.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The librarians at the round desk in the middle look out at the siege uneasily.
Eighteen months under siege had already drained hospitals of medicine and working equipment.
Growing human populations and improved fishing technology have placed marine animals under siege across the world's oceans.
But little attention is being paid to the fact that our system of electing a president is under siege.
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