belabor

American  

[bih-ley-ber] / bɪˈleɪ bər /

especially British, belabour

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.

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Etymology

Origin of belabor

First recorded in 1590–1600; be- + labor

Explanation

Belabor means to go at something with everything you've got. When you say, "Don't belabor or agonize over the decision," it means, "Move on." Belabor is made up of the Latin roots be and labor meaning "to exert one's strength upon." You can belabor a point by using excessive detail, or you could belabor the obvious by stating over and over what everyone already knows. Belaboring can be a physical attack as well. A person can belabor or beat the living daylights out of you with a club.

Example Sentences

The reason to belabor this point is that precision matters.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 12, 2025

I won’t belabor the biographical details except to note that from his debarment in 1989 till his death in 2024, Rose tirelessly lobbied for reinstatement, and each time, the commissioner refused.

From Salon • May 24, 2025

To further belabor the point, PFF assessed Witherspoon as having 39 coverage snaps but being targeted just twice and allowing no receptions.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 24, 2023

Smith doesn’t belabor who these people are, but it’s easy to tell they were rich and famous and a little bit scandalous.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 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

Related Words

• rehash