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Glite Dictionary
🔁 To repeat too much 🥊 To hit repeatedly
to belabor

to belabor

1 7.9
To hit someone or something again and again very hard
  • verb
  • /bɪˈleɪbər/
  • NSFW
translation icon : golpear
  • The angry mob belabored the protestor for expressing his views too loudly.

Examples

  • Paradoxically, the risk of a nuclear weapon being used in desperation during a Soviet civil war is probably greater than that of the deliberate Soviet nuclear strikes NATO belabored to deter during the Cold War.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Though infuriated at being so belabored, Lucian was afraid of losing his own seat.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The CYA post, OK, CYA post had it or hit it belabored breakups.

  • Then the Emir attacked the alchemist, belaboring him, striking him brutally so that he went blind.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • As he steps back to the ax and tries to extract it from the hood, she suddenly rushes at him and begins belaboring him with the crutch.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Most of the older equivalents I can think of used "days" rather than "day"—although "in my day," once used commonly by grandfathers to belabor their grandchildren, is an exception.

    Blog text (2)

  • In the film, the villain belabored the hero with blows until he fell to the ground.

  • During the heated argument, she belabored her point, insisting she was right.

Synonyms

to pound
vsto belabor
225 1.3

To hit something again and again very hard

is about repeated strong hits rather than crushing or loud noise
to bashing
vsto belabor
  • NSFW
57 3.2

To hit something or someone hard and repeatedly

focuses on repeated strong attacks rather than single blows
to thump
vsto belabor
27 3.4

To hit something hard so it makes a dull sound

describes repeated forceful attacks rather than a single dull strike
to bludgeon
vsto belabor
  • NSFW
23 8.8

To hit someone repeatedly with a heavy stick or club

hits repeatedly without needing a heavy object as weapon
to clobber
vsto belabor
  • NSFW
19 7.7

To hit someone or something very hard many times

is more about repeated force rather than extreme single hardness
to beat to a pulp
vsto belabor
  • Offensive
15 7.6

Hit someone many times until they are badly hurt or win against them very clearly

means repeated forceful attacks but with less guarantee of severe injury

Antonyms

to protect
∞ 1.0

To keep someone or something safe from harm

to defend
∞ 1.3

To protect people and things from attack or harm

How Forceful

to maul
  • NSFW
29 7.2
to pummel
46 6.7
to belabor
  • NSFW
1 7.9
to beat
  • NSFW
∞ 1.2
to strike
553 2.4
to hit
∞ 1.0
tap
66 1.0

Surface Forms

belabor infinitive
belabour infinitive
belabored past
belaboured past
belabored past participle
belaboured past participle
belaboring present participle
belabouring present participle
belabors third person singular
belabours third person singular

Morphology

belabor = labor (semi-transparent) = be + labor

The prefix 'be-' intensifies the action of 'labor', but the specific meaning of 'to hit or attack repeatedly' is not directly derivable from the base word.

Etymology

Belabor comes from the parts be- and labor, where labor means 'work'; imagine someone 'working' on another person with repeated blows, or 'working them over'. So to belabor someone in the physical sense is to hit or attack them again and again.