showdown

[ shoh-doun ]

noun

1. the laying down of one's cards, face upward, in a card game, especially poker.
2. a conclusive settlement of an issue, difference, etc., in which all resources, power, or the like, are used; decisive confrontation:

   An international showdown was inevitable.

   Synonyms: clash, encounter, climax, crisis

showdown

/ ˈʃəʊˌdaʊn /

noun

1. informal.
   an action that brings matters to a head or acts as a conclusion or point of decision
2. poker the exposing of the cards in the players' hands on the table at the end of the game

Word History and Origins

Origin of showdown¹

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; show + down ¹

Example Sentences

The Super Bowl had been hyped as one for the ages, a showdown between two star QBs.

From FiveThirtyEight

In the Sacramento Report, Sara Libby reports on a major showdown between teachers and the governor.

From Voice of San Diego

The first component to setting up just the third all-time meeting between the schools unfolded when the Bulldogs revealed this month that one player and one staff member tested positive, leading to a postponement of their showdown with No.

From Washington Post

This led to a showdown last fall with the United Auto Workers, and the biggest auto-industry strike in a decade.

From Freakonomics

Sunday’s other standout offensive performance was submitted by Titans running back Derrick Henry, who trampled the Indianapolis Colts for 178 rushing yards and a trio of touchdowns as Tennessee won a key divisional showdown.

From Washington Post

Gordon G. Chang is a Forbes.com columnist and the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World.

From The Daily Beast

Regardless of how the showdown ends, it does serve a very clear signal of what the political climate will be in the next Congress.

From The Daily Beast

Instead, it would set the stage for a massive showdown in February, when Republicans would control both the House and the Senate.

From The Daily Beast

The ambiguity revolving around the event made it a poor candidate for a final showdown.

From The Daily Beast

With Donetsk now encircled, the stage is set for a final and potentially very bloody urban showdown.

From The Daily Beast

For the trade was not unduly worried as to the outcome in the event of a showdown.

From Project Gutenberg

One day they waited for him and brought matters to a showdown.

From Project Gutenberg

Then he'd have a two-gun showdown with those men like Sawtell and Lombard and the worthless cousins.

From Project Gutenberg

Maybe there was a showdown—and the wind-up of it is that Nick comes home meek as a six-year-old broke down in front.

From Project Gutenberg

But suppose this was a showdown between Lumbrilo and Asaki—whose side would these men take?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clash
• crisis