Exhibit: The H You Do Not Hear
To exhibit is to show something publicly. The noun also names a piece of evidence in court, and the h in the middle stays silent.
To exhibit is to put something on public show: paintings in a gallery, machines at a trade fair, symptoms in a patient. Note the sound: it is *eg-ZIB-it*, with the h silent, although *exhibition* brings a clear *k* sound back at the start.
- To display publicly. *She exhibits at the gallery each spring.*
- To show a quality or symptom. *The patient exhibits no fever.*
- An object on display, or evidence in court. *Exhibit A.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | exhibit | They exhibit annually. |
| Past | exhibited | Exhibited in Paris. |
| Noun | exhibit | A museum exhibit. |
| Noun | exhibition | A photography exhibition. |
| Person | exhibitor | Exhibitors arrive early. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The museum's new exhibit opens on Friday.American usage: exhibit for the whole show.
- Fifty artists exhibited work this year.The verb takes an object or stands alone.
- The letter was entered as Exhibit B.Court exhibits are lettered or numbered.
Exhibit, exhibition and show
- Exhibition — the event, standard in British English
- Exhibit — one item in it, or the whole show in American English
- Display — the arrangement itself
- Retrospective — an exhibition covering a career
- Private view — the invitation-only opening
From Latin *exhibere*, to hold out or present, from *ex* (out) and *habere* (to hold). The legal sense of a document produced in court is as old as the display sense in English.
How is exhibit pronounced?
eg-ZIB-it. The h is silent in exhibit but pronounced in exhibition, where it sounds like ek-si-BISH-un.
Exhibit or exhibition?
In Britain the event is an exhibition and an exhibit is one object. American English uses exhibit for both.