Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

belabour

/bɪˈleɪ.bə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.30 in modern English

Syllables: be-labour
IPA: /bɪˈleɪ.bə/

12

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To labour about; labour over; to work hard upon; to ply diligently.

British usage; Obsolete; Transitive verb

verb

To beat or thump (someone) soundly.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To attack (someone) verbally.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To discuss or explain (something) excessively or repeatedly; to harp on or overelaborate.

British usage; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"1856: Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary, Part III Chapter X, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling He saw the village; he was seen coming bending forward upon his horse, belabouring it with great blows, the girths dripping with blood."
"[F]ew country people there are who do not love to see two sturdy fellows thwack and belabour each other with quarter-staff, single-stick, or fists."
"1961, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, inaugural speech Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belabouring those problems which divide us."
"And so, to belabour the school metaphor, diehard fans of both those fallen leaders resent this pair for snitching in class."

Etymology

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

Word Breakdown

Prefix: be-

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /bɪˈleɪ.bə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

belabours (present, singular) belabouring (participle, present) belaboured (participle, past) belaboured (past) belabor (alternative, US)

Derived Forms

belabouredly belabourer

Phrases

belabour the point

Synonyms

buffet thrash belabor

Homonyms

belabor

Rhymes With

labor labour neighbour weber faber saber sabre tabor caber

Questions

How do you pronounce belabour?: The recorded pronunciation is /bɪˈleɪ.bə/.
What does belabour mean?: To labour about; labour over; to work hard upon; to ply diligently.
Where does belabour come from?: From be- (“on, upon, about, over”) + labour. Compare bework, betoil, beswink.

How to pronounce belabour

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