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Synonyms

showboat

American  
[shoh-boht] / ˈʃoʊˌboʊt /

noun

  1. a boat, especially a paddle-wheel steamer, used as a traveling theater.

  2. Informal. show-off.

  3. a person, especially an athlete, who performs in an ostentatiously sensational manner calculated to draw attention; show-off.

verb (used without object)

  1. to perform or behave in an outrageous or spectacular manner.

showboat British  
/ ˈʃəʊˌbəʊt /

noun

  1. a paddle-wheel river steamer with a theatre and a repertory company

"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

verb

  1. (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

Etymology

Origin of showboat

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; show + boat

Explanation

A showboat is someone who loves to be the center of attention, like your cousin who uses every family get-together to demonstrate her tap dancing and baton-twirling abilities. A showboat is a show-off on a grand scale, someone who very obviously wants attention. It's also a verb, often used for grandstanding athletes: "If you hadn't showboated while you were practicing your skateboard tricks, you probably wouldn't have broken your arm!" This "show-off" meaning derives from the original showboats, which were riverboat theaters that presented plays, vaudeville acts, and equestrian shows up and down the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Vocabulary lists containing showboat

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The defending champion was so comfortable he began to showboat when Nery missed, playing to the crowd as he mixed in body and head shots.

From BBC • May 6, 2024

Kemp attributed Anovion’s choice of location to state and local officials, saying “they don’t posture or showboat, and they don’t try to steal credit.”

From Washington Times • Jun. 27, 2023

Back then, skeptics tried to describe him in ways that limited his accomplishments — dismissing him as selfish or a showboat.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2023

“Parmi veder le lagrime” oozed with self-regarding longing, and “La donna è mobile” had the suavity of someone who doesn’t need to showboat.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2022

It was possible, though, that he was simply angry at Lopsang, whom he regarded as a showboat.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.