Definition
To exhibit is to hold something out to be seen. In a gallery, artists exhibit their work; in a courtroom, an item entered as evidence is an exhibit. But the verb has a quieter, more academic life: a patient exhibits symptoms, a metal exhibits odd behaviour under heat, a child exhibits early signs of talent. Here exhibit means to display a quality plainly enough to be observed and recorded. The Latin exhibere meant 'to hold out', and the word still implies showing rather than concealing.
Examples
- The museum will exhibit a collection of rare manuscripts next spring.
- Under stress, the alloy exhibits a subtle change in colour.
- Several patients exhibited the same symptoms within days of one another.
Collocations
exhibit symptoms·exhibit behaviour·exhibit signs of·put on exhibit·exhibit a tendency
Synonyms
display·show·demonstrate·present·manifest
Antonyms
conceal·hide
Word family
exhibition (noun)·exhibitor (noun)·exhibit (noun)
In TOEFL & IELTS
In TOEFL lectures, materials and organisms 'exhibit' properties — a more formal alternative to 'show' that examiners reward. Lock in 'exhibit symptoms / signs of / behaviour'. Remember the two nouns: a museum exhibit (a thing on display) and a legal exhibit (evidence). It sits close to display but reads more formal and clinical.