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showboat

[ shoh-boht ]
/ ˈʃoʊˌboʊt /
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See synonyms for: showboat / showboated / showboating on Thesaurus.com

noun Also showboater (for defs. 2, 3).
a boat, especially a paddle-wheel steamer, used as a traveling theater.
Informal. show-off (def. 1).
a person, especially an athlete, who performs in an ostentatiously sensational manner calculated to draw attention; show-off.
verb (used without object)
to perform or behave in an outrageous or spectacular manner.
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Origin of showboat

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; show + boat
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use showboat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for showboat

showboat
/ (ˈʃəʊˌbəʊt) /

noun
a paddle-wheel river steamer with a theatre and a repertory company
verb
(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
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