MEANING
To surround a defended place in order to force its surrender or capture it.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- besiege a fortress
- a besieged city
On the page
The force besieged the fortress while its occupants rationed the last water.
They had expected a raid, not an army prepared to besiege the city.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- besiege
- Past tense
- besieged
- Past participle
- besieged
- Present participle
- besieging
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- besiege
- Present continuous
- am/is/are besieging
- Present perfect
- have/has besieged
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been besieging
- Past
- besieged
- Past continuous
- was/were besieging
- Past perfect
- had besieged
- Past perfect continuous
- had been besieging
- Future
- will besiege
- Future continuous
- will be besieging
- Future perfect
- will have besieged
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been besieging
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Forms: besiege; besieges; besieged; besieged; besieging Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: besieges.
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