/shoh"boht'/ , n.
1. a boat, esp. a paddle-wheel steamer, used as a traveling theater.
2. Informal. show-off (def. 1).
3. a person, esp. an athlete, who performs in an ostentatiously sensational manner calculated to draw attention; show-off.
v.i.
4. to perform or behave in an outrageous or spectacular manner.
Also, showboater (for defs. 2, 3).
[ 1865-70, Amer.; SHOW + BOAT ]