show

Etymology

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

verb

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.
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.
   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. 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
   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.
   They showed us in.
5. (intransitive) To be visible; to be seen; to appear.
   Your bald patch is starting to show.
   At length, his gloom showed.
   '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. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
6. (intransitive, informal) To put in an appearance; show up.
   We waited for an hour, but they never showed.
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.
   In the third race: Aces Up won, paying eight dollars; Blarney Stone placed, paying three dollars; and Cinnamon showed, paying five dollars.
9. (intransitive, card games) To reveal one's hand of cards.
   He called instantly but was too ashamed to show until the river. 2017, Nathan Schwiethale, Ace High: Mastering Low Stakes Poker Cash Games, page 70
10. (obsolete) To have a certain appearance, such as well or ill, fit or unfit; to become or suit; to appear.

noun

1. (countable) A play, dance, or other entertainment.
   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. 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 4, in Mr. Pratt's Patients
2. (countable) An exhibition of items.
   art show;  dog show
3. (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.
   Every day I do my morning show. Audio (US) (file) 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
4. (countable) A movie.
   Let's catch a show.
5. (Australia, New Zealand, countable) An agricultural 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 6 Oct 1924, The Examiner, Launceston, page 2, column 6
6. 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.
7. (countable) A demonstration.
   show of force
8. (uncountable) Mere display or pomp with no substance. (Usually seen in the phrases "all show" and "for show".)
   The dog sounds ferocious but it's all show.
9. Outward appearance; wileful or deceptive appearance.
   The world is still deceived with ornament.
10. (baseball, with "the") The major leagues.
    He played AA ball for years, but never made it to the show.
11. (mining, obsolete) A pale blue flame at the top of a candle flame, indicating the presence of firedamp.
12. (archaic) Pretence.
13. (archaic) Sign, token, or indication.
14. (obsolete) Semblance; likeness; appearance.
15. (obsolete) Plausibility.
16. (medicine) A discharge, from the vagina, of mucus streaked with blood, occurring a short time before labor.
17. (military, slang) A battle; local conflict.
    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?” 1918, Denis Garstin, The Shilling Soldiers, London: Hodder and Stoughton, page 116