beleaguer

verb

be·​lea·​guer bi-ˈlē-gər 

bē-

beleaguered; beleaguering bi-ˈlē-g(ə-)riŋ 

bē-

transitive verb

1

: besiege

a town beleaguered by an army

a beleaguered city

2

: trouble, harass

beleaguered parents

an economically beleaguered city

beleaguerment

bi-ˈlē-gər-mənt 

bē-

noun

Did you know?

Beleaguer comes from the Dutch word belegeren. Leger means "camp" and the prefix be- means "about" or "around." Belegeren, by definition, is a neutral verb ("to camp around"); however, beleaguer implies trouble. It is also synonymous with besiege.

Synonyms

• besiege
• blockade
• invest
• leaguer [archaic]

Examples of beleaguer in a Sentence

the lack of funds that beleaguers schools

beleaguered the castle for months

Recent Examples on the Web

Many Minneapolis police officers saw the report as a searing indictment that deals yet another blow to a department beleaguered by low morale and a staffing shortage. —Dan Simmons, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2023

Officials on both sides gave figures that indicated about 16 people have died in connection with the flooding, which has added misery to the lives of Ukrainians beleaguered by the war. —Jamey Keaten, USA TODAY, 9 June 2023

Meanwhile, Mono Lake, beleaguered by three years of drought, is expected to rise by several feet, a welcome reprieve as the lake has struggled to reach target levels. —Evan Bush, NBC News, 6 June 2023

In a city beleaguered by gun violence, Jaylen was one of 100 middle school students honored Tuesday for writing about their experiences with violence at the 2023 Do The Write Thing challenge, an event co-chaired by Latham and Watkins and Communities in Schools of Chicago. —Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 12 May 2023

Word History

Etymology

Dutch belegeren, from be- (akin to Old English be-) + leger camp; akin to Old High German legar bed — more at lair

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

beleaguer

verb

be·​lea·​guer bi-ˈlē-gər 

beleaguered; beleaguering -g(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to surround with an army so as to prevent escape : besiege sense 1

2

: to subject to troublesome forces : harass

the pests that beleaguer farmers