HEM IN

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

Surround so as to force to give up

Example:

The Turks besieged Vienna

Synonyms:

beleaguer; besiege; circumvent; hem in; surround

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "hem in" is one way to...):

assail; attack (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hem in"):

blockade; seal off (impose a blockade on)

ebb (hem in fish with stakes and nets so as to prevent them from going back into the sea with the ebb)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Meaning:

Surround in a restrictive manner

Example:

The building was hemmed in by flowers

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "hem in" is one way to...):

border; environ; ring; skirt; surround (extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "hem in"):

hedge (hinder or restrict with or as if with a hedge)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something