show up

showed up; shown up or showed up; showing up; shows up

Definition of show up

1 : to expose or discredit especially by revealing faults showed them up as frauds … it showed him up for the irrelevant and offensive person he really is…— Owen Bennett

2 : to embarrass or cause to look bad especially by comparison trying to show up the boss The offensive line has been sub par with the defensive line showing them up for at least a few days.— James Anderson

3 : reveal showed up my ignorance

intransitive verb

1a : arrive, appear showed up late for his own wedding Hundreds of tourists showed up, wearing bright sweaters, even though it was warm.— Tony Earley

b : to become involved with others and make an active contribution But what we have to remind ourselves, and each other, is that our democracy only works for us if we show up.— America Ferrera also : to provide help and support for someone If you're in a position to defend and protect someone who is a victim of abuse, then do it… Show up for them. — Sa'iyda Shabazz

2 : to be plainly evident … [Woody Hayes] cared so much about people. That showed up in the way he did things in the community, the way he lent his name to charity events.— Kyle Rowland

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about show up

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Examples of show up in a Sentence

normally, one doesn't see them, but the actress's wrinkles show up in the close-ups the band showed up an hour late

Recent Examples on the Web Thirty students, or about 16% of the student body, did not show up in the fall, costing the school tens of thousands of dollars in tuition. — Los Angeles Times, "‘A wing and a prayer.’ Financial crisis has Catholic schools struggling to serve low-income students," 3 Jan. 2021 Nancy Bryant, from New Hampshire, organized search parties in her nearby woods and put up posters in her neighborhood, but after a few weeks, Benny still didn’t show up. — Ann W. Schmidt, Fox News, "New Hampshire cat owner reunites with pet, missing for 7 years, just before Christmas," 1 Jan. 2021 Redd did not show up for his scheduled press conference on Wednesday. — oregonlive, "Oregon Ducks WR Johnny Johnson III undecided on plans for 2021," 30 Dec. 2020 The numbers didn’t show up in the 2020 season until two sacks on Thanksgiving Day. — Calvin Watkins, Dallas News, "Randy Gregory finally delivered the type of performance Cowboys have been looking for," 27 Dec. 2020 Even with a resume that already included working out with the trainer of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the prospect didn’t show up with an entourage. — Rusty Simmons, SFChronicle.com, "First-round pick James Wiseman has Warriors thrilled about this season — and those to come," 20 Dec. 2020 Still, anaphylaxis didn’t show up in the Pfizer vaccine’s Phase 3 trial either, but was seen within the first day of the vaccine’s rollout in the United Kingdom, where two nurses developed it. — Helen Branswell, STAT, "CDC advisory panel unanimously recommends use of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine," 19 Dec. 2020 In the other runoff, Republican Senator David Perdue didn't show up to a debate with Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff. — CBS News, "Georgia high school students call on peers to register to vote ahead of Senate runoffs: "Why wouldn't you?"," 7 Dec. 2020 All those tools didn’t immediately show up on game tapes. — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, "3 thoughts: SDSU 65, Pepperdine 60 ... Joshua Tomaic, charging fouls and web streams," 7 Dec. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'show up.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.