show off

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"show-off" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“show off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To exhibit the best attributes of something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-show-off · show off · English

show off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" 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 show off
PropertyValue
Headwordshow off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “show off” sits in English frequency

show offsits beyond the 100,000 most-frequent English words, in the long tail of technical, archaic, or otherwise rare vocabulary where spelling doubt tends to strike hardest.

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

Rare enough to double-check

show off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for show off in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct English form is show off, spelled S-H-O-W- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To exhibit the best attributes of something.
  2. 2
    To attract attention to for the purpose of bragging or personal exhibitionism; to demonstrate a skill, talent or property for the purpose of bragging or personal exhibitionism.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how show off appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Grocery stores show off their produce by placing the most attractive specimens in front.
  2. She loves to show off her driving prowess.

Synonyms

aura farmboulevardiercut a wide swathcut it fatcut roundexhibitionizefigure awayflamboastflauntflexflossfluff one's feathersgalleryhigh-sidelet one's nuts hangostentostentatepreenshowboatshow awayshow offstrutstrut one's stuffstuntswag it outswaggerswankthree-sheetvenditateyaya

Antonyms

hide one's light under a bushel

This word in other languages

chulear(Español)crâner(Français)angeben(Deutsch)

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 "show off"?
"show off" is spelled S-H-O-W- -O-F-F.
What does "show off" mean?
As a verb, "show off" means: To exhibit the best attributes of something.
What language does "show off" come from?
"show off" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

What to do next

You've looked up "show off". Here's where to go from here.

  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list