belabor
Americanverb (used with object)
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to explain, worry about, or work at (something) repeatedly or more than is necessary.
He kept belaboring the point long after we had agreed.
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to assail persistently, as with scorn or ridicule.
a book that belabors the provincialism of his contemporaries.
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to beat vigorously; ply with heavy blows.
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Obsolete. to labor at.
Etymology
Origin of belabor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Not to belabor the reptile references, but Byrne is something of a creative chameleon, moving easily from drama to comedy to horror, film to television to stage and back again.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026
The reason to belabor this point is that precision matters.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025
No need to belabor the point of how monumentally inadequate the Mariners’ offseason acquisitions were.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 25, 2023
Despite the tense exchange between the judge and Kise, Suarez continued to belabor the process.
From Salon • Oct. 4, 2023
Yea, & the Rest, who will line up Tomorrow & belabor my Quill, tho’ they hear this Missive is already sent.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
