v., showed, shown (shōn), or showed, show·ing, shows. v.tr.
- To cause or allow to be seen; display.
- To display for sale, in exhibition, or in competition: showed her most recent paintings.
- To conduct; guide: showed them to the table.
- To direct one's attention to; point out: show them the biggest squash in the garden.
- To manifest (an emotion or condition, for example); reveal: showed displeasure at his remark; a carpet that shows wear.
- To permit access to (a house, for example) when offering for sale or rent.
- To reveal (oneself) as in one's behavior or condition: The old boat showed itself to be seaworthy.
- To indicate; register: The altimeter showed that the plane was descending.
- To demonstrate by reasoning or procedure: showed that the hypothesis was wrong; a film that showed how to tune a piano.
- To demonstrate to by reasoning or procedure; inform or prove to: showed him how to fix the camera; showed her that it could really happen.
- To grant; bestow: showed no mercy to the traitors.
- Law. To plead; allege: show cause.
- To be or become visible or evident.
- Slang. To make an appearance; show up: didn't show for her appointment.
- To be exhibited publicly: What's showing at the movie theater tonight?
- To give a performance or present an exhibition.
- Sports. To finish third or better in a horserace or dog race.
- A display; a manifestation: made a show of strength.
- A trace or indication, as of oil in a well.
- The discharge of bloody mucus from the vagina indicating the start of labor.
- The first discharge of blood in menstruation.
- A false appearance; a pretense: only a show of kindness.
- A striking appearance or display; a spectacle.
- A pompous or ostentatious display.
- Display or outward appearance: This antique tea service is just for show. His smile was for show.
- A public exhibition or entertainment.
- An exposition for the display or demonstration of commercial products: an auto show.
- A usually competitive exhibition of domestic animals: won first place at the cat show.
- A radio or television program.
- A movie.
- A theatrical troupe or company.
- Informal. An affair or undertaking: ran the whole show.
- Sports. Third place at the finish, as in a horserace.
show off
- To display or behave in an ostentatious or conspicuous way.
- To be clearly visible.
- To put in an appearance; arrive.
- To expose or reveal the true character or nature of: showed their efforts up as a waste of time.
- Informal. To surpass, as in ability or intelligence.
get the show on the road Slang.
- To get started.
- GamesTo display one's cards with faces up. To display one's cards with faces up.
- To state one's intentions or reveal one's resources, especially when previously hidden.
- To depart from quickly; flee.
- To occupy (someone) with amusing things; entertain.
[Middle English sheuen, shouen, from Old English scēawian, to look at, display.]
SYNONYMS show, display, expose, parade, exhibit, flaunt. These verbs mean to present something to view. Show is the most general: "She hated to show her feelings" (John Galsworthy). Display often suggests an attempt to present something to best advantage: The dealer spread the rug out to display the pattern. Expose usually involves uncovering something or bringing it out from concealment: The excavation exposed a staggering number of artifacts. The term can often imply revelation of something better left concealed: Your comment exposes your insensitivity. Parade usually suggests a pretentious or boastful presentation: "He early discovered that, by parading his unhappiness before the multitude, he produced an immense sensation" (Thomas Macaulay). Exhibit implies open presentation that invites inspection: "The works of art, by being publicly exhibited and offered for sale, are becoming articles of trade" (Prince Albert). Flaunt implies an unabashed, prideful, often arrogant display: "Every great hostelry flaunted the flag of some foreign potentate" (John Dos Passos). See also synonyms at appear.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
