siege /siːdʒ/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: sege 'seat, siege' , from Vulgar Latin sedicum , from Latin sedere 'to sit' ]
1 . a situation in which an army or the police surround a place and try to gain control of it or force someone to come out of it:
The siege lasted almost four months.
a three-day police siege at a remote country cottage
siege of
the siege of Leningrad
end/lift/raise a siege (=end a siege)
2 . lay siege to somebody/something
a) if the army or police lay siege to a place, they start a siege against it:
In June 1176, King Richard laid siege to Limoges.
b) if you lay siege to someone, you do everything you can to try and get them to talk to you:
Then he set to work laying siege to her with letters.
3 . be under siege
a) to be surrounded by an army in a siege
b) to be being criticized, attacked, or threatened all the time:
The TV station has been under siege from irate viewers phoning in to complain.
4 . siege mentality the feeling among a group of people that they are surrounded by enemies and must do everything they can to protect themselves