show

show

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of show in English

English Online Dictionary. What means show‎? What does show mean?

English

Alternative forms

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

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ʃəʊ/
  • (General American) enPR: shō, IPA(key): /ʃoʊ/
  • (Canada) IPA(key): [ʃoː], [ʃow]
  • (Ireland) IPA(key): /ʃəʊ/
    • (Dublin) IPA(key): /ʃʌo̞/
  • Rhymes: (Received Pronunciation) -əʊ, (General American) -oʊ

Etymology 1

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, and Sanskrit कवि (kaví, “seer, prophet, bard”).

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To display, to have somebody see (something).
  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.
    • 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.
  5. (intransitive) To be visible; to be seen; to appear.
  6. (intransitive, informal) To put in an appearance; show up.
  7. (intransitive, informal) To have an enlarged belly and thus be recognizable as pregnant.
  8. (intransitive, motor racing) To finish third, especially of horses or dogs.
  9. (intransitive, card games) To reveal one's hand of cards.
  10. (obsolete) To have a certain appearance, such as well or ill, fit or unfit; to become or suit; to appear.
Usage notes
  • 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.
Conjugation
Synonyms
  • (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
Antonyms
  • (antonym(s) of “display”): conceal, cover up, hide
  • (antonym(s) of “indicate a fact to be true”): disprove, refute
Derived terms
Translations
See also
  • showcase
  • showdown

Etymology 2

From Middle English schewe, from the verb (schewen).

Noun

show (countable and uncountable, plural shows)

  1. (countable) A play, dance, or other entertainment.
  3. (countable) An exhibition of items.
  4. (countable) A broadcast program, especially a light entertainment program.
    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      Every day I do my morning show.
  5. (countable) A movie.
  6. (Australia, New Zealand, countable) An agricultural show.
  7. A project or presentation.
  8. (countable) A demonstration.
  9. (uncountable) Mere display or pomp with no substance. (Usually seen in the phrases "all show" and "for show".)
  10. Outward appearance; wileful or deceptive appearance.
  11. (baseball, with "the") The major leagues.
  12. (mining, obsolete) A pale blue flame at the top of a candle flame, indicating the presence of firedamp.
  13. (archaic) Pretence.
  14. (archaic) Sign, token, or indication.
  15. (obsolete) Semblance; likeness; appearance.
  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]
Synonyms
  • (exhibition): exhibition, exposition
  • (demonstration): demonstration, illustration, proof
  • (broadcast program(me)): program(me)
  • (mere display with no substance): façade, front, superficiality
  • (baseball): big leagues
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
See also

Etymology 3

Variant of shove, itself a variant of shive.

Noun

show (plural shows)

  1. Synonym of shive (“wood fragment of the husk of flax or hemp”).

References

Anagrams

  • Hows, how's, hows, who's, whos

Chinese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From English show.

Noun

show

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

Verb

show

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to show; to display
  2. (Hong Kong Cantonese) to turn up
    no show [Cantonese]  ―  nou1 sou1 [Jyutping]  ―  no-show

Etymology 2

Verb

show

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

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from English show.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɕɔːw/, /ˈɕɔw/

Noun

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)

Declension

References

  • “show” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English show.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃoː/
  • Hyphenation: show

Noun

show m (plural shows, diminutive showtje n)

  1. a show (entertainment)

Derived terms

Descendants

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

Finnish

Etymology

From English show.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

show

  1. show (entertainment)

Usage notes

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

Declension

Synonyms

  • esitys, näytös

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “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 2023-07-03

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English show.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʃo/
  • Homophones: chaud, chauds, chaut, chaux, cheau, cheaux, shows

Noun

show m (plural shows)

  1. show (entertainment program)

Further reading

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

Hungarian

Etymology

From English show.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈʃoː]
  • Homophone: só
  • Hyphenation: show
  • Rhymes: -ʃoː

Noun

show (plural show-k)

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

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

References

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from English show.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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

  1. a show (play, concert, entertainment)

Derived terms

  • moteshow
  • sceneshow

References

  • “show” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from English show.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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

  1. a show (play, concert, entertainment)

Derived terms

  • moteshow
  • sceneshow

References

  • “show” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Alternative forms

  • szoł

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʂɔw/
  • Rhymes: -ɔw
  • Syllabification: show

Noun

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

Further reading

  • show in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • show in Polish dictionaries at PWN
  • show in PWN's encyclopedia

Portuguese

Alternative forms

  • chou, xou (rare)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ow

Noun

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
  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
    Synonym: fazer uma cena

Derived terms

Adjective

show (invariable)

  1. (Brazil, slang) amazing; awesome
    Synonyms: espetacular, excelente, maravilhoso

Further reading

  • “show”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
  • “show”, in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from English show.

Noun

show n (plural show-uri)

  1. show

Declension

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English show.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʃou/ [ˈʃou̯], /ˈt͡ʃou/ [ˈt͡ʃou̯], /ˈsou/ [ˈsou̯]
  • Rhymes: -ou

Noun

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

Usage notes

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.

Derived terms

Further reading

  • “show”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Etymology

From English show.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

show c

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

Declension

References

  • show in Svensk ordbok (SO)
  • show in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
  • show in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

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This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.