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Glite Dictionary
🌟 Very impressive ⛔ Major obstacle 🎤 Amazing act
show-stopper

show-stopper

5.5
A part of a show that is so impressive it gets long applause
  • noun
  • /ˈʃoʊˌstɑːpər/
translation icon : número estelar
  • The magician's final trick was a show-stopper that left everyone in the theater speechless.

Examples

  • Her performance of the ballad was a true show-stopper that brought the audience to their feet with thunderous applause.

  • It was her husband, and the song became a show-stopper that had audiences crying openly because of the intensity of Waters' performance.

    Blog text (4)

  • During the concert, the duet was such a show-stopper that the applause lasted for several minutes.

Synonyms

stopper
vsshow-stopper
9 5.3

Something that suddenly stops an activity or makes people silent

is specific to an impressive performance that pauses a show
showstopper
vsshow-stopper
7 5.7

Something very impressive that makes people stop and look

is the same meaning but written with a hyphenated form

Antonyms

to flop
19 4.0

To end without success, often in public like a show

dud
  • Offensive
17 5.8

A person who disappoints others by not doing well

Surface Forms

show-stopper singular
show-stoppers plural

Morphology

show-stopper = show + stopper (transparent) = show + stopp + er

The immediate compound 'show stopper' is a straightforward combination of 'show' and 'stopper'.

Etymology

Show-stopper started in theatre for a performance that was so good it 'stopped' the show with long applause. That is why it means a single act that makes the audience clap and pause the show.