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Synonyms

showboat

American  
[shoh-boht] / ˈʃoʊˌboʊt /

noun

  1. a boat, especially a paddle-wheel steamer, used as a traveling theater.

  2. Informal. show-off.

  3. a person, especially an athlete, who performs in an ostentatiously sensational manner calculated to draw attention; show-off.

verb (used without object)

  1. to perform or behave in an outrageous or spectacular manner.

showboat British  
/ ˈʃəʊˌbəʊt /

noun

  1. a paddle-wheel river steamer with a theatre and a repertory company

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) to perform or behave in a showy and flamboyant way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of showboat

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; show + boat

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.