showdown

noun

show·​down ˈshō-ˌdau̇n 

1

: the placing of poker hands faceup on the table to determine the winner of a pot

2

: a decisive confrontation or contest

Examples of showdown in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Stars won each of the postseason meetings with the Avs the past two seasons, and a second-round showdown could be looming this spring. —ABC News, 4 Apr. 2026

Interested in a potential showdown between USA’s distance swim superstars Katie Ledecky and Canada’s Summer McIntosh in the 400-meter freestyle final? —James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2026

Anthropic's showdown with the Pentagon this year left OpenAI looking like the bad guy, and just this week Bloomberg reported that demand is weakening for private shares of OpenAI in the secondary market. —Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2026

There will be a GOP gubernatorial showdown after all. —Adam Beam, AJC.com, 3 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for showdown

• adown
• blowdown
• breakdown
• countdown
• crackdown
• crosstown
• downtown
• drawdown
• dropdown
• facedown
• godown
• hometown

Kids Definition

showdown

noun

show·​down -ˌdau̇n 

: the test of strength that finally settles a dispute