Etimology
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 English 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)
(transitive) To display, to have somebody see (something).
(transitive) To bestow; to confer.
(transitive) To indicate (a fact) to be true; to demonstrate.
(transitive) To guide or escort.
(intransitive) To be visible; to be seen; to appear.
(intransitive, informal) To put in an appearance; show up.
(intransitive, informal) To have an enlarged belly and thus be recognizable as pregnant.
(intransitive, motor racing) To finish third, especially of horses or dogs.
(intransitive, card games) To reveal one's hand of cards.
(obsolete) To have a certain appearance, such as well or ill, fit or unfit; to become or suit; to appear.
Examples
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.
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.
to show mercy; to show favour; show me the salt please
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.
A report this year in the Journal of Geophysical Research showed that the glacier has lost 60 percent of its mass.
Could you please show him on his way. He has overstayed his welcome.
They showed us in.
Your bald patch is starting to show.
At length, his gloom showed.
Just such she shows before a rising storm.
All round a hedge upshoots, and shows / At distance like a little wood.
'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.
We waited for an hour, but they never showed.
In the third race: Aces Up won, paying eight dollars; Blarney Stone placed, paying three dollars; and Cinnamon showed, paying five dollars.
He called instantly but was too ashamed to show until the river.
My lord of York, it better showed with you.
Related words
synonyms
(display): display, exhibit, flaunt, indicate, parade, point out, reveal, rub one's nose in, show off
(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
noun
show (countable and uncountable, plural shows)
(countable) A play, dance, or other entertainment.
(countable) An exhibition of items.
(countable) A broadcast program, especially a light entertainment program.
(countable) A movie.
(Australia, New Zealand, countable) An agricultural show.
A project or presentation.
(countable) A demonstration.
(uncountable) Mere display or pomp with no substance. (Usually seen in the phrases "all show" and "for show".)
Outward appearance; wileful or deceptive appearance.
(baseball, with "the") The major leagues.
(mining, obsolete) A pale blue flame at the top of a candle flame, indicating the presence of firedamp.
(archaic) Pretence.
(archaic) Sign, token, or indication.
(obsolete) Semblance; likeness; appearance.
(obsolete) Plausibility.
(medicine) A discharge, from the vagina, of mucus streaked with blood, occurring a short time before labor.
(military, slang) A battle; local conflict. [1892]
Examples
There were a thousand people at the show.
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.
art show; dog show
radio show; television show
They performed in the show.
I spotted my neighbour on the morning TV show.
Every day I do my morning show. Audio
Audio
Let's catch a show.
I'm taking the kids to the show on Tuesday.
E. C. McEnulty, who won the chop at the show on Thursday, cut through a foot lying block in 34 seconds
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.
show of force
I envy none their pageantry and show.
The dog sounds ferocious but it's all show.
So may the outward shows be least themselves:The world is still deceived with ornament.
He played AA ball for years, but never made it to the show.
Beware of the scribes, […] which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers.
He through the midst unmarked, In show plebeian angel militant Of lowest order, passed.
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?”
Related words
synonyms
(exhibition): exhibition, exposition
(demonstration): demonstration, illustration, proof
(broadcast program(me)): program(me)
(mere display with no substance): façade, front, superficiality
(baseball): big leagues