show up — embarrass by comparison
phrasal verbC2IELTS 8+neutraloccasional
To make someone feel embarrassed or appear less capable, skilled, or impressive by comparison, often unintentionally.
Say it like a native
Textbook Her exceptional performance caused the others to appear inferior by comparison.
Native She totally showed everyone up.
'Show up' is the natural phrase for outshining/embarrassing someone; the formal version is wordy.
Pattern: show (someone) up
In use
- Her flawless presentation really showed up the rest of the team.social
- If one team member consistently shows up others by outperforming them, it can lead to resentment and undermine group cohesion.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ She showed up me in front of the boss.
✓ She showed me up in front of the boss.
With a pronoun the object goes in the middle — 'showed me up', not 'showed up me'.
Common collocations
show someone up— in front of, showed me up, completely, by comparison
Don't confuse it
This sense is figurative and does not refer to arriving or becoming visible. Instead, it focuses on the effect one person’s actions have on another’s reputation or perceived ability.
Related
- show up (arrive (especially unexpectedly or after being late)) — 'show up' also has the more basic meaning 'arrive (especially unexpectedly or after being late)'; this is the advanced sense.