Show off meaning
Show off means to try too hard to make people admire you. It can also mean to show people something you are proud of.
show off
show off · showed · shown · showing
He’s only riding with no hands to show off.
Show off meanings and examples
3 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Try too hard to make people admire you
show off
- He’s only riding with no hands to show off.
- Stop showing off! We know you can sing.
- She doesn’t like to show off about her grades.
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2
Show people something you are proud of
show somebody or something off
- She couldn’t wait to show off her new car.
- He showed his baby photos off to everyone at work.
- We love our new garden. Come over and we’ll show it off.
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3
Make something look its best
show something off
- That blue dress really shows off your eyes.
- The white walls show off the paintings well.
- Short hair shows her face off.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use show off in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is show off separable?
When show off means try to impress, it has no object: Stop showing off. When you show something you are proud of, it is separable: show off the ring, show the ring off, show it off.
The noun is a show-off (UK) or showoff (US), a person who often shows off: Don’t be such a show-off.
Verb tenses for show off
| Present | I show off · she shows off |
|---|---|
| Past | showed off |
| Present perfect | have shown off |
| -ing form | showing off |
Common mistakes with show off
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: She wanted to show off it to her friends.
Right: She wanted to show it off to her friends.
A pronoun goes between show and off.
Wrong: He’s always showing off with his money.
Right: He’s always showing off his money.
No with. The thing comes straight after show off.
Wrong: Don’t be a show off.
Right: Don’t be a show-off.
The noun has a hyphen in UK English.
Synonyms and opposites of show off
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- boasttalk too proudly about yourself; show off can be actions
- braginformal; talk proudly about what you have or did
- show uparrive somewhere; a very different meaning
Opposite
- play downmake something seem less important than it is
- be modestnot talk much about your success
Show off quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1He did three back flips just to ___ in front of the girls.
Show off means try to make people admire you.
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2Choose the right sentence.
The thing you are proud of comes straight after show off.
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3Your friend says, “Max is such a show-off.” What is Max like?
A show-off is a person who shows off a lot.
More phrasal verbs with show
2 phrasal verbs start with show. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
Show off FAQ
Questions people ask about show off.
Is show off rude?
Show off is a criticism. Calling someone a show-off is not polite, but friends say it in a joking way: You’re such a show-off!
Show off vs boast: what is the difference?
Boast is about words: He boasts about his salary. Show off can be words or actions: He shows off on his skateboard.
Can show off be positive?
Yes, when it means show something in a good way: The light shows off the colours. In a shop, a display shows off the new phones.
Use show off in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.