When you are continually plagued with problems and trouble from all sides, this is an example of a time when you are beset with problems.
- to cover or set thickly with; stud
- to attack from all sides; harass or besiege
- to surround or hem in
Origin of besetMiddle English bisetten ; from Old English besettan: see be- and amp; set
transitive verbbe·set, be·set·ting, be·sets
- To attack from all sides.
- To trouble persistently; harass. See Synonyms at attack.
- To hem in; surround: “the mountains which beset it round” (Nathaniel Hawthorne).
- To stud, as with jewels.
Origin of besetMiddle English bisetten, from Old English besettan; see sed- in Indo-European roots.
(third-person singular simple present besets, present participle besetting, simple past and past participle beset)