Word.ws English Dictionary

show-out

show-out noun: a surreptitious signal made by an informer to the police contact, indicating that it is safe to approach.

Noun

show-out (plural show-outs)

  1. A surreptitious signal made by an informer to the police contact, indicating that it is safe to approach.
    • On entering the venue, the detective had to avoid approaching or acknowledging whoever he was meeting. First, the detective had to wait for the 'show out'. This consisted of a brief nod, signalling that there was nobody around who might blow the informer's cover.2007, Paul Willetts, North Soho 999: A True Story of Gun-crime in 1940s London, page 101

Forms of show-out

pluralshow-outs

Questions about show-out

What does show-out mean?
Show-out means a surreptitious signal made by an informer to the police contact, indicating that it is safe to approach.
What part of speech is show-out?
Show-out is a noun.
What is the plural of show-out?
The plural of show-out is show-outs.

Words near show-out in the dictionary

  1. Show-Me Stater
  2. show-off
  3. show-offery
  4. show-offs
  5. show-offy
  6. show-out
  7. show-outs
  8. show-ran
  9. show-run
  10. show-running
  11. show-runs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: show-out (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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