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.

---

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

---

exhibition Idioms  

1. see make an exhibition of oneself.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• exhibitions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exhibition

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

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

His work was shown at a recent exhibition at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

An exhibition of the winning and highly commended images will be on display at the National Maritime Museum, London from 18 September.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The exhibition has been curated by award-winning designer Leslie Travers.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The exhibition at the Royal Exchange Theatre, pictured, will celebrate "50 years of storytelling through costume, craft and performance"

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Every June during the time of our school exhibition, the graduating class gave orations and dialogues on Friday night.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Its frequent appearances in museum exhibitions and audiovisual productions about dinosaurs have also helped make it one of the best-known "terrible lizards" among the general public.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026

What’s your take on how punk is reexamined and memorialized today with things like the Punk Museum in Las Vegas, various historic exhibitions, the Ramones’ 50th anniversary, etc?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

He has, however, repeatedly defended the Smithsonian’s independence and pushed back against White House criticism of its exhibitions.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

The Journal’s critics highlight the season’s most notable films, series, plays, albums, exhibitions and more, from “Dune: Part Three” to the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 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