exhibition

American  

[ek-suh-bish-uhn] / ˌɛk səˈbɪʃ ən /

noun

• exhibitions
  plural

1. an exhibiting, showing, or presenting to view.

2. a public display, as of the work of artists or artisans, the products of farms or factories, the skills of performers, or objects of general interest.

3. an exposition or large fair of extended duration, as a world's fair.

4. British. an allowance given to a student in a college, university, or school, usually upon the result of a competitive examination.

5. Medicine/Medical Obsolete. administration, as of a remedy.

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exhibition British  

/ ˌɛksɪˈbɪʃən /

noun

1. a public display of art, products, skills, activities, etc

   a judo exhibition

2. the act of exhibiting or the state of being exhibited

3. to behave so foolishly in public that one excites notice or ridicule

4. an allowance or scholarship awarded to a student at a university or school

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exhibition Idioms  

1. see make an exhibition of oneself.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonexhibition
  noun
• preexhibition
  noun
• reexhibition
  noun
• self-exhibition
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exhibitions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of exhibition

1275–1325; Middle English exhibicion < Late Latin exhibitiōn- (stem of exhibitiō ) a presenting. See exhibit, -ion

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Explanation

An exhibition is a collection of items for public display, like an exhibition of children’s artwork, antique vases, or memorabilia from a science fiction movie series. In the 19th century, exhibition was used to refer to a collection of objects, while exhibit designated a single item in an exhibition. Nowadays, exhibition and exhibit are often used interchangeably. Exhibition comes from the Latin ex-, meaning "out," and habere, meaning "hold" — as objects in an exhibition are "held out," or shown, to the public. The h in "hold out" might help you remember to include the h when spelling exhibition.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exhibition exhibitions

To track down past exhibition objects was no mean feat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

The third edition of the lucrative exhibition, which was won by Italy's Jannik Sinner last year, has been postponed until 27-30 December.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

She regards the Palm Springs exhibition not as a summation but as another point in an expanding body of work.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

They will also look at an exhibition that shows the huge scale of the rescue effort.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

On one occasion, after he failed to appear for several potentially lucrative races, his agent found him starring in a bull-riding exhibition.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Contemporary artworks not shown in earlier exhibitions continue the gallery’s commitment to staying current.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

From then on Gethings started an astronomy club at the former St John Fisher's School in Preston - putting on talks both at his school and others and running public exhibitions.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Museums charge visitors for entry to temporary exhibitions.

From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026

Senior exhibitions curator Jessica Niebel says the idea was to walk a line between a traditional museum exhibition and a haunted-house experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Viewing exhibitions at the Guggenheim is like being conducted through a predetermined stream of consciousness, where everything merges into a total unity.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

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