show

• shew (archaic)
• shewe, showe (obsolete)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ʃəʊ/
• (General American) enPR: shō, IPA^(key): /ʃoʊ/
• (Canada) IPA^(key): [ʃoː], [ʃow]
• (Indic) IPA^(key): /ʃo(w)/, (without the toe–tow merger) /ʃɔw/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /ʃəʊ/
  • (Dublin) IPA^(key): /ʃʌo̞/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (London):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊ

From Middle English schewen, from Old English scēawian (“to look, look at, exhibit, display”), from Proto-West Germanic *skauwōn, from Proto-Germanic *skawwōną (“to look, see”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewh₁- (“to heed, look, feel, take note of”); see haw, gaum, caveat, caution.

Cognate with Scots shaw (“to show”), Dutch schouwen (“to inspect, view”), German schauen (“to see, behold”), Danish skue (“to behold”). Related to sheen.

Wider cognates include Ancient Greek κῦδος (kûdos), Latin caveō whence English caution and caveat, Sanskrit कवि (kaví, “seer, prophet, bard”), Proto-Slavic *čuti (whence Russian чу́ять (čújatʹ) and many more).

show (third-person singular simple present shows, present participle showing, simple past showed or (archaic) shew, past participle shown or (US or rare) showed)

1. (transitive) To display, to have somebody see (something).

   The car's dull finish showed years of neglect.

   All he had to show for four years of attendance at college was a framed piece of paper.

   I do some sculpturing, but I don't like to show anybody.

   • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head.

2. (transitive) To bestow; to confer.

   to show mercy; to show favour

   (dialectal) show me the salt please

3. (transitive) To indicate (a fact) to be true; to demonstrate.
   • 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 162:

     He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. With this biological framework in place, Corning endeavors to show that the capitalist system as currently practiced in the United States and elsewhere is manifestly unfair.

   • 2018, VOA Learning English > China's Melting Glacier Brings Visitors, Adds to Climate Concerns

     A report this year in the Journal of Geophysical Research showed that the glacier has lost 60 percent of its mass.

4. (transitive) To guide or escort.

   Could you please show him on his way. He has overstayed his welcome.

   Who can show me to office? -I'll show in.

5. (intransitive) To be visible; to be seen; to appear.

   Your bald patch is starting to show.

   At length, his gloom showed.

   • 1690, [John] Dryden, Don Sebastian, King of Portugal: […], London: […] Jo. Hindmarsh, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page number):

     Just such she shows before a rising storm.

   • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “The Day-Dream. The Sleeping Palace.”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 151:

     All round a hedge upshoots, and shows / At distance like a little wood.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.

6. (intransitive, copulative, archaic) To appear, look (a certain way)
   • 1891, Maxwell Grey, In The Heart Of The Storm, volume 1:

     […] until the grey wintry dawn paled them, and the chill earth showed ghostly and desolate in the cold light.

   • 1905, R. Johnson Held, S. J. Kopetzky, “Report of a Case of Purulent Meningitis Following Radical Mastoid Operation—Recovery after Operative Interference”, in Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital Reports, number 6:

     The exposed dura showed healthy and was left undisturbed.

   • 1907, Harold Blindloss, The Dust of Conflict:

     He blinked with his eyes, and the damp dripped from his face, which showed haggard and drawn; but Appleby, who wondered if his own wore that look, surmised that this was not due to cowardice, and understood why the man breathed in gasps.

7. (intransitive, informal) To put in an appearance; show up.

   We waited for an hour, but they never showed.

8. (intransitive, informal) To have an enlarged belly and thus be recognizable as pregnant.
   • 2011, Bill Condon, director, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1:

     Jessica: "So, um, do you think Bella's gonna be showing?"
     Angela: "Jess, she's not pregnant."
     Jessica: "Okay. Who else gets married at eighteen?"

   • 2012, Carley Roney, The Baby Bump: 100s of Secrets to Surviving Those 9 Long Months, Chronicle Books, page 60:

     "My friend is due 2 weeks after me and she has this cute bump. I’m barely showing! Could something be wrong?

9. (intransitive, motor racing) To finish third, especially of horses or dogs.

   In the third race: Aces Up won, paying eight dollars; Blarney Stone placed, paying three dollars; and Cinnamon showed, paying five dollars.

10. (intransitive, card games) To reveal one's hand of cards.
    • 2017, Nathan Schwiethale, Ace High: Mastering Low Stakes Poker Cash Games, page 70:

      He called instantly but was too ashamed to show until the river.

11. (obsolete) To have a certain appearance, such as well or ill, fit or unfit; to become or suit; to appear.
    • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:

      My lord of York, it better showed with you.

• The past participle shown was uncommon before the 19th century, but is now the preferred form in standard English. In the UK, showed is regarded as archaic or dialectal. In the US, it is considered a standard variant form, but shown is more common. Garner's Modern American Usage favors shown over showed as past participle and claims it is mandatory for passives.
• In the past, shew was used as a past-tense form and shewed as a past participle of this verb; both forms are now archaic.

• (display): display, exhibit, flaunt, indicate, parade, point out, reveal, rub one's nose in, show off, visiblize
• (indicate a fact to be true): demonstrate, prove
• (put in an appearance): arrive, show up

• (antonym(s) of “display”): conceal, cover up, hide
• (antonym(s) of “indicate a fact to be true”): disprove, refute

• showcase
• showdown

From Middle English schewe, from the verb (schewen).^[1][2]

show (countable and uncountable, plural shows)

1. (countable) A play, dance, or other entertainment.

   There were a thousand people at the show.

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.

3. (countable) An exhibition of items.

   art show;  dog show

   • 2026 May, Julie Belcove, “Farm Fresh”, in Architectural Digest, volume 83, number 4, page 93:

     Represented by Olney Gleason gallery, she was the subject of a 2025 solo show at the MSU Broad Art Museum in Michigan and recently unveiled a permanent installation at the Princeton University Art Museum.

4. (countable) A broadcast program, especially a light entertainment program.

   radio show;  television show

   They performed in the show.

   I spotted my neighbour on the morning TV show.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Every day I do my morning show.

5. (countable) A movie.

   Let's catch a show.

6. (Australia, New Zealand, countable) An agricultural exhibition.

   I'm taking the kids to the show on Tuesday.

   • 1924 October 6, The Examiner, Launceston, page 2, column 6:

     E. C. McEnulty, who won the chop at the show on Thursday, cut through a foot lying block in 34 seconds

7. A project or presentation.

   Let's get on with the show.

   Let's get this show on the road.

   They went on an international road show to sell the shares to investors.

   It was Apple's usual dog and pony show.

8. (countable) A demonstration.

   show of force

9. (uncountable) Mere display or pomp with no substance. (Usually seen in the phrases "all show" and "for show".)
   • 1725–1728, [Edward Young], “(please specify the page)”, in Love of Fame, the Universal Passion. In Seven Characteristical Satires, 4th edition, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson […], published 1741, →OCLC:

     I envy none their pageantry and show.

   The dog sounds ferocious but it's all show.

10. Outward appearance; wileful or deceptive appearance.
    • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

      So may the outward shows be least themselves:
      The world is still deceived with ornament.

11. (baseball, with "the") The major leagues.

    He played AA ball for years, but never made it to the show.

12. (mining, obsolete) A pale blue flame at the top of a candle flame, indicating the presence of firedamp.^[3]
13. (archaic) Pretence.
14. (archaic) Sign, token, or indication.
15. (obsolete) Semblance; likeness; appearance.
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 20:46-47:

      Beware of the scribes, […] which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers.

    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

      He through the midst unmarked,
      In show plebeian angel militant
      Of lowest order, passed.

16. (obsolete) Plausibility.
17. (medicine) A discharge, from the vagina, of mucus streaked with blood, occurring a short time before labor.
18. (military, slang) A battle; local conflict. [from 1892]^[2][4]
    • 1918, Denis Garstin, The Shilling Soldiers‎^[1], London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 116:

      A subaltern, wearing a glengarry, came out of a house, playing with the nose of a shell. He walked a little way with me.
      “Going into the show?”

• (exhibition): exhibition, exposition
• (demonstration): demonstration, illustration, proof
• (broadcast program(me)): program(me)
• (mere display with no substance): façade, front, superficiality
• (baseball): big leagues

Variant of shove,^[5] itself a variant of shive.^[6]

show (plural shows)

1. Synonym of shive (“wood fragment of the husk of flax or hemp”).
   • 1765, “Directions for raising Flax”, in Museum Rusticum et Commerciale: or, Select Papers on Agriculture, Commerce, Arts, and Manufactures. […], volume IV, London: […] R[obert] Davis, […] J[ohn] Newbery, […] and L[ockyer] Davis and C[harles] Reymers, […], page 459:

     When the flax is ſufficiently watered, it feels ſoft to the grip, and the harle parts eaſily with the boon or ſhow, which laſt is then become brittle, and looks whitiſh.

   • 1798, [Christian Friedrich] Germershausen, anonymous translator, “On the Means of promoting the Growth of young Fruit-Trees, particularly in Grass-Land. […] From the Transactions of the Œconomical Society of Leipsic.”, in The Repertory of Arts and Manufactures: […], volume VIII, London: […] [F]or the proprietors; and sold by H[enry] Lowndes, […], page 63:

     Laſt year (1793) I tranſplanted, from ſeed-beds, into the nurſery, ſeveral fruit-trees; the ground around ſome of which I covered, as above, with flax-ſhows. Notwithſtanding the great heat of the ſummer, none of thoſe trees where the earth was covered with ſhows, died or decayed; becauſe the ſhows prevented the earth under them from being dried by the ſun.

   • 1942 March, E[myr] Estyn Evans, Irish Heritage: The Landscape, the People and Their Work, Dundalk, County Louth: W[illiam] Tempest, Dundalgan Press, page 64:

     Old houses in the north-east sometimes have a thick layer of flax waste or “shows” under the thatch.

• Hows, how's, hows, who's, whos

From English show.

show

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) alternative form of 騷 / 骚 (sou¹, “show”)

show

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to show; to display
2. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to turn up

   no show [Cantonese]  ―  nou¹ sou¹ [Jyutping]  ―  no-show

show

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, eye dialect) alternative form of so (sou¹, “to respond; to pay attention to”)

Borrowed from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɕɔːw/, /ˈɕɔw/

show n (singular definite showet, plural indefinite shows or show)

1. show (play, dance, or other entertainment)
2. show (exhibition of items)
3. show (broadcast program, especially a light entertainment program)

• “show” in Den Danske Ordbog

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ʃoː/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: show

show m (plural shows, diminutive showtje n)

1. a show (entertainment)

• →? Sranan Tongo: syow
  • → Caribbean Javanese: so

From English show.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃou̯/, [ˈʃo̞u̯]
• IPA^(key): /ˈʃoː/, [ˈʃo̞ː]
• IPA^(key): /ˈsoː/, [ˈs̠o̞ː]
• Rhymes: -ou
• Syllabification^(key): show
• Hyphenation^(key): show

show

1. show (entertainment)

In plural usually substituted with a synonym, as the word does not easily fit into any Finnish declension category.

• esitys, näytös

• “show”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

Borrowed from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ʃo/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophones: chaud, chauds, chaut, chaux, cheau, cheaux, shows

show m (plural shows)

1. show (entertainment program)

• “show”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Unadapted borrowing from English show. ^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈʃoː]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: só
• Hyphenation: show
• Rhymes: -ʃoː

show (plural show-k)

1. show (entertainment, programme, production, performance)

show

1. (Lincolnshire) alternative form of sche

Borrowed from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ʃɔʋ/, /ʃɔʊ/
• Rhymes: -ɔʋ, -ɔʊ

show n (definite singular showet, indefinite plural show, definite plural showa or showene)

1. a show (play, concert, entertainment)

• moteshow
• sceneshow

• “show” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Borrowed from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ʂɔʋ/, /ʂɔu/
• Rhymes: -ɔʋ, -ɔu

show n (definite singular showet, indefinite plural show, definite plural showa)

1. a show (play, concert, entertainment)

• moteshow
• sceneshow

• “show” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

• szoł

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʂɔw/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔw
• Syllabification: show

show m inan or n (indeclinable)

1. show (large, impressive artistic and entertainment show of revue character with the participation of singers, dancers, circus performers, usually conducted by an anchorman)

   Synonym: widowisko

   Hypernym: przedstawienie

2. show (impressive artistic performance or demonstration of some unusual skill)

   Synonym: pokaz

3. show (event or series of events in social, political, or cultural life taking on the character of a spectacle eagerly watched by all)

   Synonym: przedstawienie

• “show”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “show”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)
• show in PWN's encyclopedia

• chou, xou (rare)

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ow

show m (plural shows)

1. show (an entertainment performance event)

   Synonyms: espetáculo, apresentação

   1. (especially) concert (musical presentation)
2. (Brazil, colloquial) an act or performance that demonstrates high skill; spectacle; display; feat

   Synonym: espetáculo

   Aquela aula foi um show.

   That class was amazing.

3. (colloquial, often used in dar um show) the action of crying or yelling out loud in order to protest or complain about something, often in the context of a discussion or argument; making a scene

   Synonym: fazer uma cena

show (invariable)

1. (Brazil, slang) amazing; awesome

   Synonyms: espetacular, excelente, maravilhoso

• “show”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “show”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “show”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “show”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from English show.

show n (plural show-uri)

1. show

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʃow/ [ˈʃow], /ˈʃou/ [ˈʃou̯]
  • Rhymes: -ow, -ou
  • Syllabification: show
• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃou/ [ˈt͡ʃou̯]
  • Rhymes: -ou
• IPA^(key): /ˈsou/ [ˈsou̯]
  • Rhymes: -ou

show m (plural shows)

1. show, spectacle

   Synonym: espectáculo

2. (informal) a scene, i.e. an exhibition of passionate or strong feeling before others, creating embarrassment or disruption

   Synonym: escena

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

• “show”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From English show.

• IPA^(key): /ɧɔ͡ʊ/, [ɧɔ͡ʊ], [ʂɔ͡ʊ]
• IPA^(key): /ɧɔv/, [ɧɔvː], [ʂɔvː]
• IPA^(key): /ɧoː/ (dated)

show c

1. show; a play, dance, or other entertainment.

• “show”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “show”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “show”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)