lay siege to

To surround and attack a place (often a city or building) with armed troops. A: "The army has laid siege to our town!" B: "I knew we should have evacuated sooner!"

lay ˈsiege to something

surround a building, especially in order to speak to or question the person or people living or working there: The press and paparazzi laid siege to the star’s London flat in the hope of getting a photograph of her.

A siege is a military operation in which an army tries to capture a town by surrounding it and stopping the supply of food, etc. to the people inside.

See also: lay, siege, something

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

See also:

lay siege to something
siege
take (someone, something, or some place) by storm
take by storm
take somebody/something by storm
take something by storm
take somewhere by storm
close (in) around (someone or something)
close around
close in

References in classic literature

If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

Art of War

He flew into a terrible rage when he heard what had happened, and determined to lay siege to the Flower Queen's palace; but the Queen caused a forest of flowers as high as the sky to grow up round her dwelling, through which no one could force a way.

Yellow Fairy Book

"I, also, serve the King; and if these outlaws are not given up to me at once, I shall lay siege to the castle and burn it with fire."

Robin Hood

Lemuel Struthers, the widow of Struthers's Shoe-polish, who had returned the previous year from a long initiatory sojourn in Europe to lay siege to the tight little citadel of New York.

The Age of Innocence

"We must lay siege to the city, and starve it into submission.

The Marvelous Land of Oz

A little crying out, and they must come round to their brother; when the three of us will lay siege to old Mr.

Vanity Fair

Lay siege to the church, burst in the doors, drag out the beautiful girl, save her from the judges, save her from the priests, dismantle the cloister, burn the bishop in his palace--all this we will do in less time than it takes for a burgomaster to eat a spoonful of soup.

Notre Dame de Paris

This man was Armand Jean Duplessis, Cardinal de Richelieu; not such as he is now represented--broken down like an old man, suffering like a martyr, his body bent, his voice failing, buried in a large armchair as in an anticipated tomb; no longer living but by the strength of his genius, and no longer maintaining the struggle with Europe but by the eternal application of his thoughts--but such as he really was at this period; that is to say, an active and gallant cavalier, already weak of body, but sustained by that moral power which made of him one of the most extraordinary men that ever lived, preparing, after having supported the Duc de Nevers in his duchy of Mantua, after having taken Nimes, Castres, and Uzes, to drive the English from the Isle of Re and lay siege to La Rochelle.

Three Musketeers

He doesn't pick a quarrel with his feet, or lay siege to his slippers.

The Innocence Of Father Brown

Jingle within five minutes of his arrival at Manor Farm on the preceding night, had inwardly resolved to lay siege to the heart of the spinster aunt, without delay.

The Posthumous Papers Of The Pickwick Club

"That saying does not hold good in your case," replied Leonela, "for love, as I have heard say, sometimes flies and sometimes walks; with this one it runs, with that it moves slowly; some it cools, others it burns; some it wounds, others it slays; it begins the course of its desires, and at the same moment completes and ends it; in the morning it will lay siege to a fortress and by night will have taken it, for there is no power that can resist it; so what are you in dread of, what do you fear, when the same must have befallen Lothario, love having chosen the absence of my lord as the instrument for subduing you?

Don Quixote

He also referred to the Syrian Army plan to lay siege to the remaining areas controlled by terrorists in Northern Hama, and said that the Syrian army troops will manage to take full control of Sahl al-Ghab region in Northwestern Hama once they liberate the town of al-Hobait.

Syrian Army Kicks Off Military Operations to Take Full Control of Terrorists' Key Bastion in Southern Idlib

He advised NAB to mend its way otherwise ML workers will have no option but to lay siege to NAB chairman.

Hanif Siddiqui calls NAB swoop of Shahbaz family as cruel step

They warned that they would lay siege to the offices of district administration if their salaries were not paid.

Lawyers, fired workers rally against govt

Everything was going smoothly until they reached a checkpoint in Sirawan, Davao, where soldiers recognized him as the father of Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, who had allied with Islamic-State group regional leader Isnilon Hapilon to lay siege to Marawi.

Faces of the News: Cayamora Maute

词组	lay siege to
释义	lay siege to lay siege to To surround and attack a place (often a city or building) with armed troops. A: "The army has laid siege to our town!" B: "I knew we should have evacuated sooner!" See also: lay, siege Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. lay ˈsiege to something surround a building, especially in order to speak to or question the person or people living or working there: The press and paparazzi laid siege to the star’s London flat in the hope of getting a photograph of her. A siege is a military operation in which an army tries to capture a town by surrounding it and stopping the supply of food, etc. to the people inside. See also: lay, siege, something Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary See also: lay siege to something siege take (someone, something, or some place) by storm take by storm take somebody/something by storm take something by storm take somewhere by storm close (in) around (someone or something) close around close in References in classic literature If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength. Art of War He flew into a terrible rage when he heard what had happened, and determined to lay siege to the Flower Queen's palace; but the Queen caused a forest of flowers as high as the sky to grow up round her dwelling, through which no one could force a way. Yellow Fairy Book "I, also, serve the King; and if these outlaws are not given up to me at once, I shall lay siege to the castle and burn it with fire." Robin Hood Lemuel Struthers, the widow of Struthers's Shoe-polish, who had returned the previous year from a long initiatory sojourn in Europe to lay siege to the tight little citadel of New York. The Age of Innocence "We must lay siege to the city, and starve it into submission. The Marvelous Land of Oz A little crying out, and they must come round to their brother; when the three of us will lay siege to old Mr. Vanity Fair Lay siege to the church, burst in the doors, drag out the beautiful girl, save her from the judges, save her from the priests, dismantle the cloister, burn the bishop in his palace--all this we will do in less time than it takes for a burgomaster to eat a spoonful of soup. Notre Dame de Paris This man was Armand Jean Duplessis, Cardinal de Richelieu; not such as he is now represented--broken down like an old man, suffering like a martyr, his body bent, his voice failing, buried in a large armchair as in an anticipated tomb; no longer living but by the strength of his genius, and no longer maintaining the struggle with Europe but by the eternal application of his thoughts--but such as he really was at this period; that is to say, an active and gallant cavalier, already weak of body, but sustained by that moral power which made of him one of the most extraordinary men that ever lived, preparing, after having supported the Duc de Nevers in his duchy of Mantua, after having taken Nimes, Castres, and Uzes, to drive the English from the Isle of Re and lay siege to La Rochelle. Three Musketeers He doesn't pick a quarrel with his feet, or lay siege to his slippers. The Innocence Of Father Brown Jingle within five minutes of his arrival at Manor Farm on the preceding night, had inwardly resolved to lay siege to the heart of the spinster aunt, without delay. The Posthumous Papers Of The Pickwick Club "That saying does not hold good in your case," replied Leonela, "for love, as I have heard say, sometimes flies and sometimes walks; with this one it runs, with that it moves slowly; some it cools, others it burns; some it wounds, others it slays; it begins the course of its desires, and at the same moment completes and ends it; in the morning it will lay siege to a fortress and by night will have taken it, for there is no power that can resist it; so what are you in dread of, what do you fear, when the same must have befallen Lothario, love having chosen the absence of my lord as the instrument for subduing you? Don Quixote He also referred to the Syrian Army plan to lay siege to the remaining areas controlled by terrorists in Northern Hama, and said that the Syrian army troops will manage to take full control of Sahl al-Ghab region in Northwestern Hama once they liberate the town of al-Hobait. Syrian Army Kicks Off Military Operations to Take Full Control of Terrorists' Key Bastion in Southern Idlib He advised NAB to mend its way otherwise ML workers will have no option but to lay siege to NAB chairman. Hanif Siddiqui calls NAB swoop of Shahbaz family as cruel step They warned that they would lay siege to the offices of district administration if their salaries were not paid. Lawyers, fired workers rally against govt Everything was going smoothly until they reached a checkpoint in Sirawan, Davao, where soldiers recognized him as the father of Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, who had allied with Islamic-State group regional leader Isnilon Hapilon to lay siege to Marawi. Faces of the News: Cayamora Maute
随便看	on the right foot on the right foot, get off on the right lines on the right tack on the right track on the rilla on the rise on the road on the road again on the road to recovery on the road to recovery, stardom, etc. on the road to ruin, disaster, etc. on the road to (something) on the road to stardom on the rocks on the rocks, to be on the ropes on the ropes, to be on the run on the safe side on the same page on the same page, to be on the same wavelength on the sauce on the say-so of (someone)