beleaguer
/bɪˈliː.ɡə/
"beleaguer" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“beleaguer” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To besiege; to surround with troops.
Corpus desk
Index EN-beleaguer · beleaguer · English
beleaguer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | beleaguer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /bɪˈliː.ɡə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “beleaguer” in English
Rare enough to double-check
beleaguer is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /bɪˈliː.ɡə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for beleaguer in our index, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Dutch belegeren and/or Middle Low German belēgeren; equivalent to be- + lair. Compare also German belagern, Danish belejre. The English spelling was perhaps influenced by unrelated league. The correct English form is beleaguer, spelled B-E-L-E-A-G-U-E-R.
Definition
- 1To besiege; to surround with troops.
- 2To vex, harass, or beset.
- 3To exhaust.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how beleaguer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I have read in some old marvellous tale, / Some legend strange and vague, / That a midnight host of spectres pale / Beleaguered the walls of Prague. // Beside the Moldau's rushing stream, / With the wan moon overhead, / There stood, as in an awful dream, / The army of the dead.
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch belegeren and/or Middle Low German belēgeren; equivalent to be- + lair. Compare also German belagern, Danish belejre. The English spelling was perhaps influenced by unrelated league.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.