no-show

/ˈnoʊ ˌʃoʊ/

//ˈnoʊ ˌʃoʊ// noun

"no-show" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“no-show” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An absence; failure to show up or to make a scheduled appearance, especially at a hotel or a place of employment.

Corpus desk

Index EN-no-show · no-show · English

no-show · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "N" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for no-show
PropertyValue
Headwordno-show
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈnoʊ ˌʃoʊ/
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “no-show” in English

no-showranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

no-show is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈnoʊ ˌʃoʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for no-show, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is no-show, spelled N-O---S-H-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    An absence; failure to show up or to make a scheduled appearance, especially at a hotel or a place of employment.
  2. 2
    A person or group that does not show up.
  3. 3
    Ellipsis of no-show sock.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how no-show appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. You may want to consider instituting a charge for no-shows. […] Also, you must inform patients, in advance, that there is a charge for no-shows, and what that charge is.
  2. Out of fifty people who said they would attend, we only had three no-shows.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "no-show"?
"no-show" is spelled N-O---S-H-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnoʊ ˌʃoʊ/.
What does "no-show" mean?
As a noun, "no-show" means: An absence; failure to show up or to make a scheduled appearance, especially at a hotel or a place of employment.
How do you pronounce "no-show"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "no-show" is /ˈnoʊ ˌʃoʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "no-show" come from?
"no-show" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list