flashbulb

or flash bulb

[ flash-buhlb ]

noun

, Photography.

1. a glass bulb, filled with oxygen and aluminum or zirconium wire or foil, which, when ignited electrically, burns with a brilliant flash to provide momentary illumination of a subject.

flashbulb

/ ˈflæʃˌbʌlb /

noun

1. photog a small expendable glass light bulb formerly used to produce a bright flash of light Also calledphotoflash Compare electronic flash

Word History and Origins

Origin of flashbulb¹

First recorded in 1930–35; flash + bulb

Example Sentences

To keep the audience on its toes, some scene changes are punctuated by blinding lights and obnoxiously loud flashbulb clacks.

From New York Times

Suddenly, here he was, clean through on goal: the best player in the world, the hometown icon who has come to symbolize P.S.G.’s ambition, prowess, excess and hubris, his flashbulb moment at his fingertips.

From New York Times

But within days of the strike ending in early November, celebrities had again begun stepping out in their finest borrowed garments and those fears disappeared faster than the flash of a flashbulb.

From New York Times

Diplomatic niceties mean heads of state tend to avoid allowing the flashbulbs too close to a get together with an opposition politician; the formal relationship is always one government to another.

From BBC

First film premiere with all the attendant bright lights, flashbulbs and breathless hoopla, a scene that set the stage for every movie opening of the subsequent century.

From Los Angeles Times