belabor
pronunciation
How to pronounce belabor in British English:
UK [bɪ'leɪbə]
How to pronounce belabor in American English:
US [bɪˈlebɚ]
-
- Verb:
- to work at or to absurd length
- attack verbally with harsh criticism
- beat soundly
Word Origin
- belabor (v.)
- 1590s, "to exert one's strength upon," from be- + labor (v.). But figurative sense of "assail with words" is attested somewhat earlier (1590s); and belabored is attested from mid-15c. with a sense of "tilled, cultivated."
Example
- 1. Counselor , do we really haveto belabor the situation ?
- 2. I will not belabor the obvious parallel with judas iscariot .
- 3. Belabor : to attack with blows ; hit , beat , or whip .
- 4. Not to belabor the point , but proust makes hugo look concise and cogent , even ' sketchy ' .
- 5. How much more elegant is it to slay your foe , with the roses of irony than to massacre him with the axes of sarcasm or to belabor him with the bludgeon of invective .