have to show for

Save This Word!

Be able to exhibit as a result of one's work or expenditure. For example, I've been working all day and I have absolutely nothing to show for it, or He has some very fine paintings to show for the vast amount of money he's spent. This idiom was first recorded in 1727.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby have to show for

have the last laugh, have the makings of, have the say, have to, have to do with, have to show for, have two left feet, have up, have words with, Havilah, Haviland

How to use have to show for in a sentence

Policemen on the show joke about prison riots, bomb threats, and the shooting of unarmed civilians.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
As soon as this attack [happened], Paris citizens came together to show were are not afraid, we are Charlie Hebdo.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And they might not have to wait that long to show their political heft.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Not actual CIA agents, but U.S. government personnel who have worked very closely with the CIA, and who are fans of the show.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS|Marlow Stern|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Sands was involved in a scandalous-for-the-time romance with the carpenter and there were rumors she was pregnant with his child.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Each day she resolved, "To-morrow I will tell Felipe;" and when to-morrow came, she put it off again.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
All the operations of her brain related themselves somehow to to-morrow afternoon.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
None other would dare to show herself unveiled to a stranger, and a white man at that.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
"Buy something for your wife that-is-to-be," he said to his grand-nephew, as he handed him the folded paper.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
I shall show how it is possible thus to prolong life to the term set by God.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor