belabor

especially British, be·la·bour

[bih-ley-ber]

verb (used with object)

1. to explain, worry about, or work at (something) repeatedly or more than is necessary.

   He kept belaboring the point long after we had agreed.

2. to assail persistently, as with scorn or ridicule.

   a book that belabors the provincialism of his contemporaries.

3. to beat vigorously; ply with heavy blows.

4. Obsolete.,  to labor at.

Word History and Origins

Origin of belabor¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; be- + labor

Example Sentences

In this case, the vice president’s belabored justification for his lie is that a tiny percentage of the trillion dollars in question — the price tag of GOP health care cuts — is spent on legal immigrants.

From Salon

Even at 72 minutes, “Good Boy” is belabored in the middle stretch.

From Los Angeles Times

Daisy began her journey at Downton Abbey as a belabored kitchen maid, but eventually the estate’s revered cook Mrs. Patmore took her under her wing.

From Los Angeles Times

But this exhibitionistic Oedipus is the star of the show’s unnecessary preface, a belabored warmup act that should have been cut in rehearsals.

From Los Angeles Times

Without belaboring the point, Howe provides abundant evidence to the contrary, arguing that imperialistic expansion was in the very DNA of the young republic.

From Salon

Related Words

• rehash