lay siege

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

[edit] English

[edit] Verb

to lay siege (third-person singular simple present lays siege, present participle laying siege, simple past laid siege, past participle lain siege)

1. To besiege, to engage in a siege.
   • 1611, Authorized King James Version, Ezekiel 4:2,

     And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about.

2. (figuratively) To attack continually over a long period.

   They're laying siege to all we hold dear.