1
as in to horse around
to engage in attention-getting playful or boisterous behavior
the athletes warmed up, happily showing off for the crowd before the match officially started
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in to display
to present so as to invite notice or attention
she just wants to show off her new jewelry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in hotshot
informal + disapproving
a person who tries to impress other people with his or her abilities or possessions
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of show off
Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
Names of contestants go into a hat, and contestants get to show off their skills to an audience that, if done successfully, might be craving more than a slice of pie.
—Charlie Vargas, Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 11 May 2025
Otherwise, this is a visually stunning chassis that will satisfy patient-building component show-offs.
—PCMAG, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for show off
Verb
Vance showed off a way with words quite similar to Leavitt’s, and to Trump’s.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2026
Names of contestants go into a hat, and contestants get to show off their skills to an audience that, if done successfully, might be craving more than a slice of pie.
—Charlie Vargas, Daily News, 23 Jan. 2026
Noun
In This Article Take It Easy With Greens Pick a Combo With Staying Power
Rely On Dependable Winners
The Three Rules of Container TLC
These summer show-off container gardens will brighten up any porch or patio all season long—even in the Southern heat.
—Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 11 May 2025
Otherwise, this is a visually stunning chassis that will satisfy patient-building component show-offs.
—PCMAG, 1 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for show off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for show off
Verb
-
In April 2020, Iglesias shared a video of him horsing around with Lucy and Nicholas as the pair attempted to climb on his back for a ride.—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
19 Jan. 2026
-
At this point in time, my little AI company, a lean and mean group of passionate believers, is horsing around fine-tuning the product, living on a couple of angel investments, where a 10X return on few million dollars is very satisfying, not only to the angel, but also to the employees.—
Neil Senturia,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Feb. 2026
-
Behind him was a screen displaying X posts.—
Donald Moynihan,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
There's macho panache and white-knuckle action sequences aplenty as Pitt's eccentric Formula 1 veteran plays reluctant mentor to a hotshot rookie (Damson Idris).—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Anatomy Of An Alibi by Ashley Elston Aubrey Price assumes the identity of out-of-towner Camille Bayliss to uncover dark secrets about Camille’s husband, hotshot lawyer Ben, but their plan spirals out of control when Ben is found murdered.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Cleaning and Organizational Supplies Keep an eye out for unused kitchen linens and old beach towels that can be cut up and used as rags.—
Ashley Poskin,
Martha Stewart,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Options laid out in an Interior Department study of new operating rules absent a seven-state solution envision Lower Basin cuts up to twice what the Southwestern states have suggested.—
Brandon Loomis,
AZCentral.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Heartfield’s 1934 image, used on the front cover of the left-wing Workers’ Illustrated Magazine (Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung) shows Joseph Goebbels, chief Nazi propagandist, as Hitler’s barber.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
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Citi noted that market positioning continues to reflect supply concerns, with oil for near-term delivery trading at a premium to later months, and skewed call option pricing showing that traders are still paying up for protection against higher prices.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The wise guys already view Denver suspiciously, casting them with the 12th-best odds to reach the Super Bowl next February.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Framing wise guys on murder charges for Whitey Bulger, looking the other way on a gangland hit by a BPD detective in Canton in 1976, the list of scandals is too great to even list them all.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Not too long ago, artificial intelligence was more or less a science project in which data scientists and developers fooled around with one-off small or test projects.—
Joe McKendrick,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
The current scenario exhibits characteristics of both—not as drastic as the 77% crash of 2022, yet the institutional de-risking reflects similar structural challenges from that period.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The newborn is the first primate born at the Bronx Zoo’s new immersive World of Darkness exhibit, the WCS said.—
Nicholas Rice,
PEOPLE,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Show off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/show%20off. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
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