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belabor

/bɪˈleɪbər/

IPA guide

Other forms: belabored; belaboring; belabors

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.

Definitions of belabor
  1. verb
    beat soundly
    synonyms: belabour
    see moresee less
    type of:
    beat, beat up, work over
    give a beating to; subject to a beating, either as a punishment or as an act of aggression
  2. verb
    attack verbally with harsh criticism
    “She was belabored by her fellow students”
    synonyms: belabour
    see moresee less
    type of:
    criticise, criticize, knock, pick apart
    find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws
  3. verb
    work at or to absurd length
    belabor the obvious”
    synonyms: belabour
    see moresee less
    type of:
    work at, work on
    to exert effort in order to do, make, or perform something
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