belabor

Definitions

be- (thoroughly, all over) + labor (work) = to 'work something over' completely. You don't physically toil — you keep hammering a point well past where it was needed, until everyone is tired of it: to belabor the point.

Why It Means This

The 'work over' image is the key. Originally belabor could mean to beat someone with blows ('work them over' physically). That violent sense faded, leaving the figurative one: you 'beat' a topic to death with words, dwelling on it long after the point is made. Most common today in the fixed phrase 'belabor the point.'

Common Collocations

• 1.belabor the point反复强调那一点
• 2.belabor the obvious对显而易见的事啰嗦
• 3.no need to belabor没必要赘述

Example Sentences

• 1.

  I won't belabor the point — you all understand the risks.

• 2.

  She belabored every minor detail until the meeting dragged on.

• 3.

  There's no need to belabor what everyone already agrees on.