as in to show off
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
the gymnast was showboating for the cameras when she lost her balance and fell
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of showboat
Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Fonseca found Barbosa to be a showboat on Instagram, sure, but also unfailingly polite and generous.
—Lauren Smiley, WIRED, 10 July 2024
John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Apr. 2022
But that was neither showboating nor talking trash.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for showboat
Verb
Still, the factor that may have been most harmful were his relationships with fellow Republican lawmakers, who regarded him as an empty showboat willing to hurt the party to gain attention.
—Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024
Fonseca found Barbosa to be a showboat on Instagram, sure, but also unfailingly polite and generous.
—Lauren Smiley, WIRED, 10 July 2024
Noun
Don’t showboat around the bases.
—John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Apr. 2022
But that was neither showboating nor talking trash.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2020
See All Example Sentences for showboat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for showboat
Verb
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Decorators, manufacturers, magazines, department stores, artists and foreign governments flocked to Paris to show off their latest creations, drawing more than 16 million visitors.—
Joelle Diderich,
Footwear News,
25 Sep. 2025
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Beethoven's Ninth, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Outgoing Milwaukee Symphony Music Director Ken-David Masur has packed his concluding season here with major choral works to show off the Milwaukee Symphony Chorus in its 50th year.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Entre Charros experience is like no other, offering a window into the iconic lifestyle of the Mexican cowboy, complete with a lesson in roping on horseback.—
David Shortell,
Travel + Leisure,
28 Sep. 2025
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Since my last trip, the Howard County district attorney had dismissed the cattle-rustling charges against Skeet, Leroy Medlin, and the other cowboys.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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To mulch leaves, use a lawn mower or leaf shredder to cut up your leaves into small pieces and then pile them up around your plants.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
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Investigators allegedly recovered evidence from Louisma's car, including a pocketknife with blood stains on it, machetes, a rope, a roll of duct tape, pink HeyDude shoes, and a cut up pink shirt with duct tape wrapped around it, CBS2 Iowa reports.—
KC Baker,
PEOPLE,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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There's one moment in the trailer that shows Wolverine slashing an enemy with multiple cuts before shoving his claws straight through his skull, confirming this game is going to embrace the violence and berserker rage of this character.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
24 Sep. 2025
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Welcome to the new American berserk, to borrow Philip Roth’s memorable phrase.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Running or horsing around with sparklers can also cause injuries and burns when users trip and fall.—
Justin Laube,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 July 2025
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Heath Ryan, who represented Australia in dressage at the 2008 Olympics, can be seen in the video – which the rider said is about two years old – hitting a horse around 40 times.—
Matias Grez,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
Verb
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Yet the feeling that the Red Sox proved everyone wrong prompted him to revel, too.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
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Gattuso reveled as his side broke the deadlock when Moise Kean headed in Mateo Retegui’s flick-on in the 58th minute.—
David Ferrini,
Forbes.com,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Send any news, comments, Meta predictions, or Costco hotdogs to talk@qz.com.—
Francisco Velasquez,
Quartz,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Gisin hopes that by fooling around with measurements of these more exotic states, physicists will come to better understand the role of measurement in general.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Aug. 2025
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Those have come from two players: Adrian Morejon of the San Diego Padres, who throws an odd knuckleball-changeup hybrid about 1 percent of the time, and Jonah Bride of the Minnesota Twins, an infielder fooling around with the knuckler in blowouts.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Showboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/showboat. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.
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