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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of showboat
John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 16 Apr. 2022
But that was neither showboating nor talking trash.
—Dalton Ross, EW.com, 1 Apr. 2020
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
See All Example Sentences for showboat
Verb
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
Noun
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
See All Example Sentences for showboat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for showboat
Verb
-
For Halloween 2021, Pepper Thai — cookbook author and Chrissy Teigen's mom — showed off her costume on Instagram as the ultimate momager, wearing a fur coat and holding a Hermès Birkin bag.—
Diana Pearl,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Lemmon takes on the sheer look in a diaphanous black silk organza skirt and jacket layered over the tricolor, while Jacobson leaves her suit jacket open to show off an ab-baring cropped button-down and midi skirt.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
McGuane’s cowboys lose fights—for women, for their ranches, for their dreams—and tend to know when they’ve been beaten.—
Tyler Austin Harper,
The Atlantic,
30 Oct. 2025
-
The Call Me By Your Name actor plays an outlaw among a group of travelers in the Old West who team up with a cowboy named Merrick Beckford (Myles Clohessy) on a dangerous journey.—
Tommy McArdle,
PEOPLE,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The chicken, now cut up into small pieces at the lunch hour, soaks up the broth and packs an even more flavorful punch.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Guests ate slices of Chantilly sheet cakes from Whole Foods, which were cut up in the back and served with the rest of the desserts.—
Ashlyn Robinette,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
Welcome to the new American berserk, to borrow Philip Roth’s memorable phrase.—
Jonathan Zimmerman,
Mercury News,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Running or horsing around with sparklers can also cause injuries and burns when users trip and fall.—
Justin Laube,
EverydayHealth.com,
2 July 2025
-
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
-
In the party scene, though, there would be plenty of swooping camera movements as the guests revelled.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Fans reveled as the Nets and the Suns marked the league's return by playing a preseason game in the Venetian Arena, which is owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp., which is also a casino operator there.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Send any news, comments, Meta predictions, or Costco hotdogs to talk@qz.com.—
Francisco Velasquez,
Quartz,
3 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
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 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share