belabor

verb

be·​la·​bor bi-ˈlā-bər 

bē-

belabored; belaboring; belabors

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.

Synonyms

• emphasize

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 on the Web

To really belabor the Lost analogy, Miranda’s queerness has unlocked a whole different, parallel-universe island. —Judy Berman, Time, 15 Aug. 2025

The movie dipped into some of the nostalgia of the original – with a Chad Michael Murray appearance and a musical performance by Lohan – but didn't belabor the inside jokes. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 11 Aug. 2025

Rather than belabor the game-changing call by officials with reporters afterward, San Jose coach Bruce Arena wants to hear the opinions of those who should know best. —Jon Becker, Mercury News, 27 July 2025

Credit that to Bana’s performance, which doesn’t belabor the guy’s issues nor his stoicism. —Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing belabor

• labor/belabor the point

Rhymes for belabor

• nonlabor
• labor
• neighbor
• neighbour
• saber
• sabre
• tabor

Kids Definition

belabor

verb

be·​la·​bor bi-ˈlā-bər 

1

: to keep explaining or insisting on to excess

I don't want to belabor the point

2

: assail, attack