show off
BothSense-dependent: some meanings take an object and split, others take none. Check the sense you mean.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: show OFF. Saying “SHOW off” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
A glide appears. Two vowels meet, so American English slips a /w/ between them: “show off” → “show-woff”. You do not insert it deliberately — it falls out of not stopping between the words.
Verb vs noun
As a noun the stress flips to the front: the verb is show OFF, the noun is SHOW-OFF. Same two words, different beat — “to show OFF” is the action, “a show-off” is the thing. Getting this backwards makes the sentence land oddly even when every sound is right.
What it means
To display your abilities or possessions in order to impress.
- “She always shows off her dance moves at parties.”
- “He bought the car just to show it off.”
Similar: boast, flaunt