Meaning

4 senses

  1. (UK, transitive)To beat or thump (someone) soundly.

    beat soundly

  2. (UK, transitive)To attack (someone) verbally.

    attack verbally with harsh criticism

  3. (UK, transitive)To discuss or explain (something) excessively or repeatedly; to harp on or overelaborate.

    1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, inaugural speech Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide us.

  4. (UK, obsolete, transitive)To labour about; labour over; to work hard upon; to ply diligently.

Translations

1 languages

Origin

From be- (“on, upon, about, over”) + labour. Compare bework, betoil, beswink.

From be- (“on, upon, about, over”) + labour. Compare bework, betoil, beswink.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

belabours, belabouring, belaboured, belaboured
Base formbelabour · to belabour
3rd person singularbelabours
Present participlebelabouring
Past simplebelaboured
Past participlebelaboured

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, theybelabour
he, she, itbelabours

Past simpleLesson

all personsbelaboured

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, theyhave belaboured
he, she, ithas belaboured

Future simple (will)Lesson

all personswill belabour

Synonyms

3 synonyms
buffetthrash
Close in meaning

Word family

2 related words
Derivedbelabouredlybelabourer

Lessons for this word

3 lessons

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
beingA2bejesusbelatedbelatedlybelch
belabour — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto