flash

¹

[ flash ]

noun

1. a brief, sudden burst of bright light:

   The sky lit up with a flash of lightning.

   Synonyms: glare, gleam, flare

2. a sudden, brief outburst or display of joy, wit, etc.:

   Her brilliant eye for detail and quiet flashes of humor make the book a joy to read.

3. a very brief moment; instant:

   I'll be back in a flash.

   Synonyms: wink, twinkling

4. Informal. flashlight ( def 1 ).
5. Journalism. news flash ( def ).
6. Photography.
   1. bright artificial light thrown briefly upon a subject during an exposure.
   2. flash lamp.
   3. flashbulb.
   4. electronic flash.
7. the sudden flame or intense heat produced by a bomb or other explosive device.
8. a sudden thought, insight, inspiration, or vision:

   I smelled the sea breeze and had a flash of my childhood summers at the beach.

9. a showy or ostentatious display.
10. Slang. rush ¹( def 24 ).
11. Metallurgy.
    1. a ridge of metal left on a casting by a seam between parts of the mold.
    2. a ridge formed at the edge of a forging or weld where excess metal has been squeezed out.
12. Poker. a hand containing all five suits in a game played with a five-suit pack.
13. 1. a device, such as a lock or sluice, for confining and releasing water to send a boat down a shallow stream.
    2. the rush of water thus produced.
14. hot flash ( def ).
15. Obsolete. the cant or jargon of thieves, vagabonds, etc.

verb (used without object)

1. to break forth into sudden flame or light, especially transiently or intermittently:

   We saw a buoy flashing in the distance.

2. to gleam:

   The car's chrome bumpers flashed in the sun.

   Synonyms: scintillate

3. to burst suddenly into view or perception:

   The answer flashed into his mind.

4. to move very suddenly and quickly.
5. to speak or behave with sudden anger, outrage, or the like (often followed by out ):

   to flash out at a stupid remark.

6. to break into sudden action.
7. Slang. to open one's clothes and expose the genitals suddenly, and usually briefly, in public.
8. Slang. to experience the intense effects of a narcotic or stimulant drug.
9. to dash or splash, as the sea or waves.
10. Archaic. to make a flash or sudden display.

verb (used with object)

1. to emit or send forth (fire or light) in sudden bursts.
2. to cause to emit or reflect light:

   There was a driver tailgating them who kept flashing his high beams and honking his horn.

   A beekeeper I knew used to flash a mirror at his hive to help settle them.

3. to communicate instantly:

   The airline flashed the updated flight time on the overhead display.

4. to make an ostentatious display of:

   He's forever flashing a large roll of bills.

5. to display suddenly and briefly:

   She flashed her ID card at the guard.

6. to change (water) instantly into steam by pouring or directing onto a hot surface.
7. to increase the flow of water in (a river, channel, etc.).
8. Glassmaking and Ceramics.
   1. to coat (plain glass or a glass or ceramic object) with a layer of colored, opalescent, or white glass.
   2. to apply (such a layer).
   3. to color or make (glass) opaque by reheating.
9. Building Trades. to protect from leakage with flashing.
10. Computers.
    1. to write a program, file, etc. to the part of (a device's) memory that is reprogrammable and retains information even with the power turned off:

       If you're still having problems, you can flash the router.

    2. to write (a program, file, etc.) to the part of a device's memory that is reprogrammable and retains information even with the power turned off:

       I flashed the device's firmware using the latest version available.

11. Cards. to expose (a card) in the process of dealing.
12. Archaic. to dash or splash (water).

adjective

1. happening suddenly and usually lasting a short time:

   a flash storm.

2. very brief, fast, or short: flash poetry and fiction.

   flash freezing of vegetables;

   flash poetry and fiction.

3. Computers. relating to or using a type of reprogrammable memory that retains information even with the power turned off:

   a flash drive.

4. showy or ostentatious.

   Synonyms: ostentatious, pretentious, tawdry, gaudy, flashy

5. caused by or used as protection against flash from an explosive device:

   flash injuries; flash clothing.

6. counterfeit or sham.

   Synonyms: fake, false

7. Obsolete. belonging to or connected with thieves, vagabonds, etc., or their cant or jargon.

FLASH

²

[ flash ]

noun

1. a precedence code for handling messages about initial enemy contact or operational combat messages of extreme urgency within the U.S. military.

flash

/ flæʃ /

noun

1. a sudden short blaze of intense light or flame

   a flash of sunlight

2. a sudden occurrence or display, esp one suggestive of brilliance

   a flash of understanding

3. a very brief space of time

   over in a flash

4. an ostentatious display

   a flash of her diamonds

5. Also callednewsflash a short news announcement concerning a new event
6. Also calledpatch an insignia or emblem worn on a uniform, vehicle, etc, to identify its military formation
7. a patch of bright colour on a dark background, such as light marking on an animal
8. a volatile mixture of inorganic salts used to produce a glaze on bricks or tiles
9. 1. a sudden rush of water down a river or watercourse
   2. a device, such as a sluice, for producing such a rush
10. informal.
    photog short for flashlight flash photography
11. a ridge of thin metal or plastic formed on a moulded object by the extrusion of excess material between dies
12. dialect.
    a pond, esp one produced as a consequence of subsidence
13. modifier involving, using, or produced by a flash of heat, light, etc

    flash blindness

    flash distillation

14. flash in the pan
    a project, person, etc, that enjoys only short-lived success, notoriety, etc

adjective

1. informal.
   ostentatious or vulgar
2. informal.
   of or relating to gamblers and followers of boxing and racing
3. sham or counterfeit
4. informal.
   relating to or characteristic of the criminal underworld
5. brief and rapid

   flash freezing

verb

1. to burst or cause to burst suddenly or intermittently into flame
2. to emit or reflect or cause to emit or reflect light suddenly or intermittently
3. intr to move very fast

   he flashed by on his bicycle

4. intr to come rapidly (into the mind or vision)
5. intr; foll by out or up to appear like a sudden light

   his anger really flashes out at times

6. 1. to signal or communicate very fast

      to flash a message

   2. to signal by use of a light, such as car headlights
7. informal.
   tr to display ostentatiously

   to flash money around

8. informal.
   tr to show suddenly and briefly
9. slang.
   intr to expose oneself indecently
10. tr to cover (a roof) with flashing
11. to send a sudden rush of water down (a river, etc), or to carry (a vessel) down by this method
12. (in the making of glass) to coat (glass) with a thin layer of glass of a different colour
13. tr to subject to a brief pulse of heat or radiation
14. tr to change (a liquid) to a gas by causing it to hit a hot surface
15. obsolete.
    to splash or dash (water)

Other Words From

• flash·ing·ly adverb
• out·flash verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of flash¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English flasshen “to sprinkle, splash,” earlier flask(i)en; probably phonesthemic in origin; compare similar expressive words with fl- and -sh

Word History and Origins

Origin of flash¹

C14 (in the sense: to rush, as of water): of unknown origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. flash in the pan,
   1. a brief, intense effort that produces no significant result.
   2. a person or thing that enjoys short-lived success.
2. flash on, Slang.
   1. to have a sudden thought, insight, or inspiration about.
   2. to have a sudden, vivid memory or mental picture of:

      I just flashed on that day we spent at the lake.

   3. to feel an instantaneous understanding and appreciation of.

More idioms and phrases containing flash

In addition to the idiom beginning with flash , also see in a flash ; quick as a wink (flash) .

Synonym Study

Flash, glance, glint, glitter mean to send forth a sudden gleam (or gleams) of bright light. To flash is to send forth light with a sudden, transient brilliancy: A shooting star flashed briefly. To glance is to emit a brilliant flash of light as a reflection from a smooth surface: Sunlight glanced from the glass windshield. Glint suggests a hard bright gleam of reflected light, as from something polished or burnished: Light glints from silver or from burnished copper. To glitter is to reflect intermittent flashes of light from a hard surface: Ice glitters in the moonlight.

Example Sentences

When the system finally started marching south, it resulted in a flash flood warning in San Francisco, which Flynn called “pretty rare.”

From Los Angeles Times

Last week, in a national conference on scams targeting older adults, Deborah Royster of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned that consumers are being wiped out in a flash.

From Los Angeles Times

Most of it is blurry or of poor quality, but it clearly shows six flashes against the night sky, each comprised of a cluster of six individual projectiles.

From BBC

The associate warden issued riot gear and masks to the guards, who quelled the riot with tear gas, pepper spray, and “flash stun” and “multi blast” grenades, the document says.

From Los Angeles Times

There are also flashes of images that frankly, we couldn't make any sense of, but maybe you'll have better luck:

From Salon

Related Words

• beam
• blaze
• burst
• flame
• flare
• glare
• gleam
• glimmer
• glint
• glitter
• glow
• radiation
• ray
• reflection
• spark
• sparkle
• vision