bə̇ˈset, bē-, usu -ed.+V transitive verb
( beset ; beset ; besetting ; besets )
Etymology: Middle English besetten, from Old English besettan, from be- + settan to set — more at set
1.
a. : to set at intervals : stud especially with ornaments
leaves whose edges were beset with thorns — J.G.Frazer
a crown beset with pearls
b. : to cover especially with plant growth
beset with tangled vegetation — Xavier Herbert
: fill or strew especially with impediments
the road is beset with dragons and evil magicians — T.B.Costain
2. : plague , trouble , harass : weigh down : dog , bedevil
subject to none of the pressures that beset American and English papers — F.L.Mott
distrust of himself had always beset and hampered him — S.H.Adams
3.
a. : to set upon : attack repeatedly : assail
throughout the long trek the settlers were beset by savages
b. : to lay siege to : surround so as to compel surrender : besiege
enemy troops beset the fortress
c. : to occupy, take possession of, or overrun in such a way as to prevent free passage : choke off : blockade
a screaming mob beset every road into the town
d.
(1) : to close or hem in : encompass , surround
a town beset with towering mountains
(2) : to surround (as a task or problem) with immaterial or nonphysical perils or obstacles
his task was beset with many difficulties
(3) : to surround (as a ship) on all sides with ice so that free movement is totally checked — used of ice fields
in danger of being beset by the worst pack we'd ever seen — Glen Jacobsen