Definition of "beleaguer" [be•lea•guer]

• To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. (verb-transitive)
• To surround with troops; besiege. See Synonyms at besiege. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Either way, until all schools are created equal, such drastic and sweeping policies will only aggravate the inconsistencies and inequities that already beleaguer our school system."
• "Serious troubles continue to beleaguer the operators of the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture that was crippled by an earthquake and tsunami."
• "It avoids some of the diplomatic ploys of the big powers that beleaguer the international mechanisms."