belabor

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verb be·la·bor \ bi-ˈlā-bər , bē- \

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.

See belabor defined for English-language learners

See belabor defined for kids

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

Losers: Sixers Let’s not belabor this one any more than necessary: The last thing Philadelphia wanted or needed was another No. 1 pick to succumb to injury.

— ben golliver, SI.com, "2017 NBA Summer League: Winners And Losers," 17 July 2017
One issue that seems to belabor proceedings is that Snowfall is, above all, an origin story.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "Snowfall Considers the Origins of the Crack Epidemic," 5 July 2017
The parallels with events at the start of this century are plain to see, yet the movie, to its credit, does not belabor them.

— anthony lane, The New Yorker, "“Baywatch” and “Letters from Baghdad”," 5 June 2017
But the point Mainieri belabored -- and justifiably so -- were the five errors that let Texas Southern hold a 7-5 lead after the top of the fifth.

— christopher dabe, NOLA.com, "Paul Mainieri takes blame for sloppy LSU play in regional win vs. Texas Southern," 2 June 2017
Bar-Lev belabors some anecdotes, notably one involving the band’s sabotage-by-LSD of a documentary crew.

— sheri linden, latimes.com, "A long 'Long Strange Trip' about the Grateful Dead is ultimately worth the journey," 25 May 2017
Curtain Call: The final number utilizes a door and was a bit lengthy and belabored.

— lania berger, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Problem Is...' at Orlando Fringe Festival," 23 May 2017
But that kill seemed to energize the Ducks, and their long comeback crested when Cam Fowler beat Rinne from near the Nashville blue line, as Corey Perry belabored Rinne in front of the net.

— mark whicker, Orange County Register, "Whicker: Ducks’ latest bid for Cup trip ‘not meant to be’," 22 May 2017
But by the film’s belabored end, the franchise has shed its host.

— jake coyle, charlotteobserver, "Review: In ‘Alien: Covenant,’ a return to gut-busting horror," 16 May 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.

First Known Use of belabor

1596

belabor Synonyms

Synonyms

dwell (on or upon), harp (on)

Antonyms

disregard, forget, ignore, overlook, overpass, pass over, slight, slur (over)

Related Words

accent, accentuate, emphasize, pay (up), point (up), stress, underline, underscore

Near Antonyms

acclaim, commend, compliment, hail, laud, praise

BELABOR Defined for English Language Learners

belabor

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verb

Definition of belabor for English Language Learners

: to talk about (something) for too long : to repeat or stress (something) too much or too often
: to attack or criticize (someone)

BELABOR Defined for Kids

belabor

play

verb be·la·bor \ bi-ˈlā-bər \

Definition of belabor for Students

belabored; belaboring

:to keep explaining or insisting on to excess

belabor an argument

Learn More about belabor

See words that rhyme with belabor Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for belabor Spanish Central: Translation of belabor Nglish: Translation of belabor for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of belabor for Arabic speakers

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Examples of belabor in a Sentence

Recent Examples of belabor from the Web

First Known Use of belabor

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BELABOR Defined for English Language Learners

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