Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
showdown [shoh-doun] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for showdown on Thesaurus.com noun
- the laying down of one’s cards, face upward, in a card game, especially poker.
- a conclusive settlement of an issue, difference, etc., in which all resources, power, or the like, are used; decisive confrontation: An international showdown was inevitable.
Origin of showdown An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; show + down1 Synonyms for showdown See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com 2. crisis, climax, encounter, clash. Related Words for showdown crisis, clash, culmination, climax Examples from the Web for showdown Contemporary Examples of showdown
Regardless of how the showdown ends, it does serve a very clear signal of what the political climate will be in the next Congress.
Bachmann and Pelosi vs. Boehner and Obama Over Spending Bill
Ben Jacobs
December 11, 2014
Did you watch the showdown between The Mountain and the Red Viper?
Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey on Cersei Lannister’s Future and That Controversial Rape Scene
Marlow Stern
June 17, 2014
And that showdown between Vee and Gloria was one of the most mesmerizing sequences ever on OITNB.
‘Orange Is the New Black’ Season 2: The Finest, Funniest, and Most Terrifying Moments of Eps. 1-6
Kevin Fallon, Marlow Stern
June 12, 2014
In some ways, however, the Ukraine showdown has placed pressure the White House to hold off on further angering the Russians.
Pentagon Moves to Block Russian Spy Plane in American Skies
Eli Lake
April 18, 2014
So this is showdown week in Congress for extension of unemployment benefits.
The Fight Over Unemployment Benefits Underscores the Right’s Extremism
Michael Tomasky
January 13, 2014
Historical Examples of showdown
“They’d better have given the plan a showdown,” interrupted Steve grimly.
Sara Ware Bassett
If it comes to a showdown, we’re goin’ to tell what we know.
William Macleod Raine
Say, Tex, honest Injun, would you ‘a’ fired off that dynamite if it had come to a showdown?
William Macleod Raine
Hope if it ever comes to a showdown the secretary of the bureau of commerce will agree with me.
Holman Day
He shucked his windbreaker because it would be more encumbrance than help in the showdown.
Anne Walker
British Dictionary definitions for showdown showdown noun
- informal an action that brings matters to a head or acts as a conclusion or point of decision
- poker the exposing of the cards in the players’ hands on the table at the end of the game
Word Origin and History for showdown n.
also show-down, 1873 in card-playing (especially poker), from show (v.) + down (adv.). Figurative sense of “final confrontation” is from 1904.