showdown

[ shoh-doun ]
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noun
  1. the laying down of one's cards, face upward, in a card game, especially poker.

  2. a conclusive settlement of an issue, difference, etc., in which all resources, power, or the like, are used; decisive confrontation: An international showdown was inevitable.

Origin of showdown

1
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; show + down1

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use showdown in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for showdown

showdown

/ (ˈʃəʊˌdaʊn) /


noun
  1. informal an action that brings matters to a head or acts as a conclusion or point of decision

  2. poker the exposing of the cards in the players' hands on the table at the end of the game

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