belabor

be·la·bor

B b

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [bih-ley-ber]
- /bɪˈleɪ bər/
- /bɪˈleɪ.bər/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [bih-ley-ber]
- /bɪˈleɪ bər/

Definitions of belabor word

transitive verb belabor If you say that someone belabors the point, you mean that they keep on talking about it, perhaps in an annoying or boring way. 3
verb transitive belabor to beat severely; hit or whip 3
verb transitive belabor to attack with words; scold 3
verb transitive belabor to spend too much time and effort on; develop in too great detail 3
verb with object belabor to explain, worry about, or work at (something) repeatedly or more than is necessary: He kept belaboring the point long after we had agreed. 1
verb with object belabor to assail persistently, as with scorn or ridicule: a book that belabors the provincialism of his contemporaries. 1

See all 11 definitions of belabor

Information block about the term

Origin of belabor

First appearance:

before 1590

One of the 37% oldest English words

First recorded in 1590-1600; be- + labor

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Belabor

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Belabor

belabor popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 74% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

belabor usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for belabor

verb belabor

rehash — to work up (old material) in a new form.
pound — Archaic. to shut up in or as in a pound; impound; imprison.
overwork — to cause to work too hard, too much, or too long; weary or exhaust with work (often used reflexively): Don't overwork yourself on that new job.
repeat — repeat loop
beat a dead horse — to argue an issue that is already settled

All 6 Synonyms of belabor