belabor

verb be·la·bor \ bi-ˈlā-bər , bē- \

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

Definition of belabor

transitive verb

1 a : to attack verbally

If I had been ill-natured, I should have shown up the little great man, who had once belabored me in his feeble way.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes

b : to beat soundly

… ancient battles in which the combatants belabored one another with swords, staffs, cudgels, halberds and other heavy-duty weapons until the blood flowed …
—James Rogers

2 : to explain or insist on excessively

her habit of belaboring the obvious

He needlessly belabored the point.

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Examples of belabor in a Sentence

Her habit of belaboring the obvious makes her a very boring speaker.
Please don't belabor the point.
He uses his newspaper column to belabor writers for even the most minor grammatical errors.

Recent Examples of belabor from the Web

Katz belabors the scene, showing the fan post pictures of herself with Heather to Instagram as if this were some revelation about the zeitgeist.

— ben sachs, Chicago Reader, "Film / Money The low-budget mystery Gemini is an honest but failed study in upper-class malaise," 11 Apr. 2018
By mixing some of the best features of comics, video games, and animation, Florence tells a sweet and memorable tale that isn't belabored with a lot of fluff or busywork.

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Florence’s breezy, slice-of-life romance is a refreshing take on gaming," 15 Feb. 2018
But there are enough twists in the story to keep us engaged, and the film builds to an emotionally satisfying conclusion without belaboring the sentimentality.

— stephen farber, The Hollywood Reporter, "'On Borrowed Time': Film Review | Palm Springs 2018," 16 Jan. 2018
Rather than advancing the plot, the series has a habit of making its characters belabor each and every decision.

— laura bradley, HWD, "A Walking Dead Plea: Eugene Should Either Pick a Side or Die Already," 3 Dec. 2017
Kushner depicts this through several clever theatrical symbols that eventually belabor their points.

— theodore p. mahne, NOLA.com, "Dramatic musical 'Caroline, or Change' a fresh look at old Southern themes," 31 Oct. 2017
Under deadline, though, Keyes couldn’t belabor the process.

— michael cavna, ajc, "A look back at Tom Petty’s memorable ‘Simpsons’ appearance," 4 Oct. 2017
Just imagine exercising with nothing but the sound of your own panting in your ear, or the belabored breathing of the guy next to you on the treadmill.

— sarah rense, Esquire, "This Hip-Hop Playlist Will Power You Through Even the Hardest Workout," 26 Oct. 2017
The Golden Circle For all its breathless action, mind-boggling gadgets and stylized fight sequences, nothing much happens in this belabored comic-book spy caper.

— chronicle staff report, San Francisco Chronicle, "Movie review capsules, Oct. 29," 25 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'belabor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.