exhibit

Formsexhibits, exhibiting, exhibited

Pluralexhibits

1. 1
   verbtransitive

   To show something to others by putting it on display, particularly in an exhibition or competition.

   Several breeders exhibit their prize animals at the regional show.

   The collector exhibited his rare coins for the first time this month.

   Similardisplay, show, present, showcase

   Oppositehide, conceal

   Note

   Behind every sense of the word is Latin exhibeō, "I hold forth, present, show," built from ex "out" and habeō "I have, hold," the same habeō that gave habit. Here the holding-out is literal: cards, coins and prize animals set before an audience. The verb slides easily toward abstract objects, as in the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897), "to exhibit visible signs of uneasiness." That is where the "demonstrate" meaning takes over.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   Something that is shown or displayed, as in a museum, gallery, or show.

   The fossil was the most popular exhibit in the entire collection.

   Volunteers carefully dusted every exhibit before the doors opened.

   Similardisplay, item, piece, object, attraction

   Note

   The single thing on show rather than the show itself: one fossil, one painting, or whole farm buildings moved to an open-air museum, as in M. D. Greville's "To the Valdres by Rail" in Railway Magazine (1955). Countable and concrete, it is what visitors walk past. When exhibit names the whole event, as in "a new exhibit is drawing a crowd," it is the exhibition sense instead.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A public showing of works or objects; an exhibition.

   The science museum opened a new exhibit on deep-sea life.

   Critics praised the traveling exhibit when it reached the city.

   Similarexhibition, show, display, exposition

4. 4
   verbtransitive

   To demonstrate or display a quality, feeling, or characteristic.

   Young children often exhibit a strong sense of fairness.

   The new alloy exhibited unusual strength under high heat.

   Similarshow, display, demonstrate, reveal, manifest

   Oppositehide, conceal

   Note

   Here what is held out is a quality rather than an object: skill, stupidity, unusual behaviors. It often follows its noun as a participle, as in the dense stupidity exhibited by the working classes, or animals exhibiting unusual behaviors. That descriptive, reporting tone suits it to news writing and careful description, where show can sound too casual.

5. 5
   verbintransitive

   To take part in a public showing by presenting one's work.

   She exhibits at three major fairs each season.

   Painters who exhibit abroad often reach wider audiences.

   Similarshow

   Note

   The use with no object at all: the exhibitor is the subject and the work is understood. "Will you be exhibiting this year?" asks an artist or dealer whether they will take part, not what they will show. Name the work and you are back to the transitive display sense. Add a place with at or in, as in exhibit at a fair or exhibit in a gallery, to say where.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   An object or document formally introduced as evidence in a court of law.

   The jury examined the bloodstained shirt entered as an exhibit.

   The lawyer asked the witness to identify the photograph marked as an exhibit.

   Note

   The noun the courtroom runs on: each item of evidence is marked with a letter or number so everyone can refer to it, as in "Exhibit A is this photograph." It is capitalized together with its label, and it covers documents and photographs as readily as weapons. Lawyers commonly say an item is entered or introduced as an exhibit. The act of offering it is the legal verb.

7. 7
   nouncountable

   An occasion or instance of showing something publicly.

   The brief exhibit of the manuscript happened only once.

   Her one-night exhibit of new work attracted serious buyers.

   Similarshowing, display, show, presentation

8. 8
   verbtransitive

   To produce an object in court so that it can be examined as evidence.

   The lawyers exhibit the signed letter to support their claim.

   She exhibited the damaged part to prove the manufacturer was at fault.

   Similarproduce, present, submit, introduce

   Note

   The courtroom verb: a party offers an object to the court so that the judge and opposing counsel can examine it. It is often spoken in the first person as a formal act, as in "I now exhibit this bloody hammer." The thing offered in this way becomes an exhibit in the legal sense.

9. 9
   verbtransitive

   To administer a drug or treatment to a patient as a remedy.

   The doctor chose to exhibit a mild sedative before the procedure.

   Physicians once exhibited mercury to treat a range of ailments.

   Similaradminister, prescribe, give

   Note

   A physician's sense in which the object is the remedy, never the patient: one exhibits calomel, not a sufferer. It stays close to the Latin idea of holding something forth, with the drug presented to the body, and it is often framed with a dose, a route or a timing. In ordinary prose, administer or give is the safer choice, since most readers will hear only "display."

Showing meanings only. Show all 9