/si:dʒ; sidʒ/
n
1 (a) surrounding of a town, fortress, etc by armed forces in order to capture it or force it to surrender 围困; 围攻; 围城
*a siege of
50 days
50 天的围困
* be in a state of/under siege 处于被围状态
* raise/lift (ie end) a siege 撤围
* By the time the siege ended, the citizens were nearly starving. 围城停止时, 市民已饿得濒于死亡.
* [attrib 作定语] siege guns 攻城炮.
(b) surrounding by police, etc of a building in which people are living or hiding （警方等对住有或藏有人的建筑物的）包围.
2 (idm 习语) lay siege to sth begin a siege of (a town, fortress, etc) 包围（城镇、城堡等）.

n [U and C]
[Date: 1100-1200; Language: Old French;Origin: sege 'seat, siege', from Vulgar Latin sedicum, from Latin sedere 'to sit']
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)
lay siege to sb/sth
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.
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.
siege mentality
the feeling among a group of people that they are surrounded by enemies and must do everything they can to protect themselves