beset

Verb

beset (third-person singular simple present besets, present participle besetting, simple past and past participle beset)

1. (transitive, literal or figurative) To assail or attack (someone) from all sides; to set about.
   • He that hath read Seneca or Boethius, is well provided against any ordinary misfortune; and to have by heart the story of Argalus and Parthenia; the dolorous madrigals of old Plangus in the Arcadia; or the history of Pyramus and Thisbe, is a never failing remedy for the mubble-fubbles: For to be...1654, Edmund Gayton, Festivous notes on the history and adventures of the renowned Don Quixote
   • “Nay, for matter o’ that, he never doth any mischief,” said the woman; “but to be sure it is necessary he should keep some arms for his own safety; for his house hath been beset more than once; and it is not many nights ago that we thought we heard thieves about it […]1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   beleaguer, badger, bait, bedevil, persecute, dog, bullyrag, besiege, bug, devil

2. (transitive) To occupy and block (an entrance, a passage, etc.), especially to prevent people from passing.
3. (transitive, chiefly passive voice) To decorate (someone or something) by surrounding with accessories, etc.

   Synonyms:

   bedazzle, bejewel, bespangle

4. (archaic, transitive) Followed by with: to encircle or surround (someone or something); to hem in.
   • For thou, deere Lord, thou me besett'st; / Thy rodd and thy staff be / To comfort me: […]a. 1587 (date written), Philip Sidney, “Psalm XXIII. Dominus regit me.”, in The Psalmes of David […], London: From the Chiswick Press by C[harles] Whittingham, for Robert Triphook, […], published...
   • Thou me beſetſt behind, before, / and laidſt thine hand on me, / Such knovvledge is for me too ſtrange, / it to attain's^([sic – meaning attainest]) too hie [high].1648, Zachary Boyd, “Psal[m] CXXXIX. [Verse 5.]”, in The Psalmes of David in Meeter: With the Prose Interlined, Glasgow: […] [T]he heires of George Anderson, →OCLC, signature Y2, recto

   Synonyms:

   bebay, environ, inbind, umbeset

5. (archaic, transitive, chiefly passive voice) To trap (a ship) within frozen sea; to ice in.

   Synonyms:

   bebay, environ, inbind, umbeset

6. (figuratively, transitive) Of dangers, difficulties, enemies, etc.: to negatively affect (someone or something); to trouble.
   • Fred Brentnall, in his squeaky lorikeet voice reads to the House Lawson's last two stanzas, just to highlight the danger besetting the colony of Queensland, indeed, the whole country:[…]2006, Pip Wilson, “If Blood should Stain the Wattle”, in Faces in the Street: Louisa and Henry Lawson and the Castlereagh Street Push, 3rd edition, Coffs Harbour, N.S.W.: [Pip Wilson], published...
   • Some of Grimsby's other (extraordinarily up-to-date) targets include Donald Trump and Daniel Radcliffe, whose fates here are too breath-catchingly cruel to spoil, and also the admirably game Strong, whose character is beset by a constant stream of humiliations that hit with the force of a jet of …...2016 February 23, Robbie Collin, “Grimsby review: ‘Sacha Baron Cohen’s vital, venomous action movie’”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC...
7. (archaic, often, transitive) Of soldiers, etc.: to surround (a place) to compel surrender; to besiege.
8. (obsolete, transitive) To capture (an animal); to ensnare, to entrap.
9. (obsolete, transitive) To arrange or set (something) in order.
10. (obsolete, transitive) To give (something); to bestow, to present.
11. (obsolete, transitive) To spend or use (something, such as effort, money, time, or words).
12. (obsolete, transitive) Followed by on or upon: to place or set (love, trust, etc.) on someone.
13. (obsolete, transitive) To be appropriate or fitting for (something); to become, to befit.
14. (intransitive, obsolete) Followed by with: to accord or go well with something.