Macmillan Dictionary

Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

siege

 - definition
Close

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Close

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

more
noun [countable/uncountable] British English pronunciation: siege /siːdʒ/ 
Word Forms
Close
singularsiege
pluralsieges
Other entries for this word

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    an attack in which an army surrounds a castle or city in order to prevent the people inside from receiving food and water

    The troops prepared to withstand a long siege.

    break a siege (=to cause a siege to end):

    An attempt was made to break the 38-month siege of Sarajevo.

    lift/raise a siege (=to end a siege):

    The king lifted the siege two months later.

    under siege (=in a siege):

    Malta was under siege in World War II.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of siege
    See also  lay1
  2. 2
    a situation in which a group of people surround a building in order to protest about something or to force the people inside to come out

    Police surrounded the house for a 12 hour siege.

    state of siege:

    The town was in a state of siege (=people could not leave or enter it).

    lay siege to something (=start a siege in a place):

    Hundreds of students laid siege to the American embassy.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of siege

phrase

This is the British English definition of siege. View American English definition of siege.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

View the pronunciation for siege.

 

caxirola

a percussion instrument used by football fans which makes a rattling sound when shaken

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day

emancipation

the process of giving freedom and rights to someone

Open Dictionary

pierce the corporate veil

… the decision to treat the rights and duties of a company as being the same as the rights and duties of its shareholders

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog