flash

present singular third person flashes · participle present flashing · participle past flashed · past flashed

1. transitiveTo cause to shine briefly or intermittently.

   He flashed the light at the water, trying to see what made the noise.

2. intransitiveTo blink; to shine or illuminate intermittently.

   The light flashed on and off.

   2 more examples

   Eugenie's quick apprehensions seized the foul thought. Her eyes flashed—her cheek crimsoned.

   1841, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], chapter XIII, in Night and Morning […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC

   Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.

   1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168

   Synonyms: glint

3. intransitiveTo be visible briefly.

   The scenery flashed by quickly.

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   Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.

   1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 52

4. transitiveTo make visible briefly.

   A number will be flashed on the screen.

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   The special agents flashed their badges as they entered the building.

   She flashed me a smile from the car window.

   Today, people are taking to the street once again. Clad in face masks, and flashing the three-fingered Hunger Games salute to the sound of Thai rap, thousands of protesters have thronged the capital over recent months, demanding political reform of a military-backed government seen as bungling and corrupt.

   2020 September 14, Charlie Campbell, “'Thailand’s Inconvenient Truth.' Why This Billionaire Is Risking It All to Back Reform of the Monarchy”, in Time, archived from the original on 14 Sep 2020

5. ambitransitiveinformalTo expose one's intimate body part or undergarment, often momentarily and unintentionally. (Contrast streak.)

   She flashed a vocalist at a rock concert.

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   Her skirt was so short that she flashed her underpants as she was getting out of her car.

6. figurativelyTo break forth like a sudden flood of light; to show a momentary brilliance.

   But while he jested thus, / A thought flashed through me, which I clothed in act. / Remembering how we three presented Maid, / Or Nymph, or Goddess, at high tide of feast, / In masque or pageant at my father's court.

   1851, Alfred Tennyson, “The Princess: A Medley”, in Poems by Alfred Tennyson. In Two Volumes, new edition, volume II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, page 163

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   For although party's worn-out moulds have been shivered, and names which have flashed and thundered as the watchwords of unnumbered struggles for power are now fast waning into history, it is too much to hope, perhaps to desire, until the education of mankind shall more nearly approach its completion, that strong differences of opinion and feeling should cease to agitate the scenes on which freemen are called to discharge political duties.

   1845, Thomas [Noon] Talfourd, Report of the Proceedings Connected with the Grant Soirée of the Manchester Athenæum, Held on Thursday, October 23rd, 1845. From the Manchester Guardian of Saturday, October 25th, 1845. Printed for the Directors, Manchester: Cave and Sever, Printers, 18, St. Ann's Street, →OCLC, page 16

   The Isabella [Isabella, or the Pot of Basil], then, is a perfect treasure-house of graceful and felicitous words and images: almost in every stanza there occurs one of those vivid and picturesque turns of expression, by which the object is made to flash upon the eye of the mind, and which thrill the reader with a sudden delight.

   1856, Matthew Arnold, “Preface”, in Poems, new and complete edition, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 20

7. To flaunt; to display in a showy manner.

   He flashed a wad of hundred-dollar bills.

   1. African-American VernacularTo show a gang sign or similar hand gesture.

      I knew he was serious when he flashed a Bloods sign.

8. To communicate quickly.

   to flash a message along the telephone wires;  to flash conviction on the mind

   1 more example

   The news services flashed the news about the end of the war to all corners of the globe.

9. To move, or cause to move, suddenly.

   Flash forward to the present day.

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   ⁠Deep folly! yet that this could be— ⁠That I could wing my will with might ⁠To leap the grades of life and light, And flash at once, my friend, to thee: […]

   1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XL”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 62

   'The body is propelled, headforemost, by a fluttering" of the legs. This flutter bears some resemblance to the crawl-stroke kick-inverted. The knees are together and toes pointed in line with the legs. From the knees, the legs are, alternately, dropped a few inches and then flashed upwards again. The feet thus continually pass and repass, and the "wedges" of water driven out from between the legs force the body along.

   1879, Sid. G. Hedges, The Boy's Own Paper, volume 45, Leisure House Office, page 66

   But they survived some real pressure as David Murphy flashed a header inches wide of Rob Green's right-hand post[…].

   2011 January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, “West Ham 2 – 1 Birmingham”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 18 Mar 2016

10. datedtransitiveTo telephone a person, only allowing the phone to ring once, in order to request a call back.

    Susan flashed Jessica, and then Jessica called her back, because Susan didn't have enough credit on her phone to make the call.

11. intransitiveTo evaporate suddenly. (See flash evaporation.)
12. transitiveclimbingTo climb (a route) successfully on the first attempt.
13. transitivecomputingTo write to the memory of (an updatable component such as a BIOS chip or games cartridge).

    In order to flash a custom ROM to a phone, the boot loader must be unlocked first.

14. transitivebusinessTo cover with a thin layer, as objects of glass with glass of a different colour.
15. transitivebusinessTo expand (blown glass) into a disc.
16. transitiveTo send by some startling or sudden means.
17. intransitiveTo burst out into violence.
18. artsTo perform a flash.
19. engineeringTo release the pressure from a pressurized vessel.
20. obsoletetransitiveTo trick up in a showy manner.

    Oft have I ſeaſoned ſavory periods / With ſugar'd words, to delude Guſtus' taſte, / And oft embelliſh'd my entreative phraſe, / Limning and flaſhing it with various dyes, / To draw proud Viſus to me by the eyes: […]

    1607, Antony Brewer [attributed; now generally believed to be by Thomas Tomkis], Lingua: Or, The Combat of the Tongue and the Five Senses for Superiority. A Comedy (A Select Collection of Old Plays; V), [London]: [Printed for R[obert] Dodsley], published [1744], →OCLC, act I, scene i, page 8

21. obsoletetransitiveTo strike and throw up large bodies of water from the surface; to splash.

    1 more example

    The varlet ſaw, when to the flood he came, / How without ſtop or ſtay he fiercely lept, / And deep himſelfe beducked in the ſame, / That in the lake his loftie creſt was ſteept, / Ne of his ſafetie ſeemed care he kept, / But with his raging armes he rudely flaſhd / The waves about, and all his armour ſwept, / That all the bloud and filth away was waſht, / Yet ſtill he bet the water, and the billows daſht.

    1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Qveene. Disposed into Twelue Books, Fashioning XII. Morall Vertues, London: Printed for W[illiam] Ponsonbie, OCLC 18024649, book II, canto VI, stanza XLII; republished as The Faerie Queene. By Edmund Spenser. With an Exact Collation of the Two Original Editions, Published by Himself at London in Quarto; the Former Containing the First Three Books Printed in 1590, and the Latter the Six Books in 1596. To which are Now Added, a New Life of the Author, and also a Glossary. Adorn'd with Thirty-two Copper-Plates, from the Original Drawings of the late W. Kent, Esq.; Architect and Principal Painter to His Majesty, volume I, London: Printed for J. Brindley, in New Bond-Street, and S. Wright, Clerk of His Majesty's Works, at Hampton-Court, 1751, OCLC 642577152, page 316

22. To flash back.

    1 more example

    Kevin, one of the first buddies in Boston lies calmly, very thin in the casket. I think of his face angrily making a point at a meeting or happily hosting his Christmas party. I flash to my father's wake and the "well-meaning" people who whispered about how awful he looked as I stood by watching, wanting to scream "What did you expect?"

    1988 February 14, Marea Murray, “Friction Between The Factions”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 30, page 11

plural flashes

1. countableuncountableA sudden, short, temporary burst of light.

   Between 8 and 9 p.m., the recorder at a meteorological station at Harrow, Middlesex, picked up 1,470 lightning flashes within a radius of 10 to 15 miles, and observers at the station described the storm as "probably one of the most spectacular of the century."

   1958 November 28, “Storm Damage in the Home Counties”, in Railway Magazine, page 746

   Synonyms: gleam, glint

2. countableuncountableA very short amount of time.

   Quick—something must be done! done in a flash, too! But the very imminence of the emergency paralyzed his invention.

   1876, Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 1st American edition, Hartford, Conn.; Chicago, Ill.; Cincinnati, Oh.: The American Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 164

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   [F]or Empire and Greatneſs it importeth moſt, that a Nation do profeſs Arms as their principal Honour, Study and Occupation: […] The Fabrick of the State of Sparta was wholly (though not wiſely) framed and compoſed to that Scope and End. The Perſians and Macedonians had it for a flaſh. The Galls, Germans, Goths, Saxons, Normans, and others had it for a time.

   1680, Francis Bacon, “Of the True Greatness of Kingdoms and Estates”, in The Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral, of Sir Francis Bacon, Lord Verulam, Viscount St Alban. With a Table of the Colours of Good & Evil. Whereunto is Added The Wisdom of the Antients. Enlarged by the Honourable Author Himself; and Now More Exactly Published, London: Printed by M[ary] Clark, for Samuel Mearne, in Little Britain, John Martyn, in St. Pauls Church-yard, and Henry Herringman, in the New Exchange, →OCLC, pages 111–112

   Synonyms: instant, jiffy, twinkle, bat of an eye, bit, blink of an eye, crack, eyeblink · Antonyms: aeon, spell, aeon, age, ages, blue moon, coon's age, crow's age

3. UScolloquialcountableuncountableA flashlight; an electric torch.

   I reached a flash out of my car pocket and went down-grade and looked at the car.

   1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, OCLC 747046957; republished London: Penguin Books, 2011, ISBN 978-0-241-95628-1, page 34

4. countablefigurativelyuncountableA sudden and brilliant burst, as of genius or wit.

   [B]reath his faults ſo quaintly, / That they may ſeeme the taints of liberty; / The flaſh and out-breake of a fiery minde, / A ſauagenes in vnreclaim'd bloud of generall aſſault.

   1599–1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act II, scene i, page 259

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   I cannot learn that he [Patrick Henry] gave, in his youth, any evidence of that precocity which sometimes distinguishes uncommon genius. His companions recollect no instance of premature wit, no striking sentiment, no flash of fancy, no remarkable beauty or strength of expression; and no indication, however slight, either of that impassioned love of liberty, or of that adventurous daring and intrepidity, which marked, so strongly, his future character.

   1817, William Wirt (Attorney General), “section I”, in Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry, Philadelphia, Pa.: Published by James Webster, No. 10, S. Eighth Street. William Brown, printer, Prune-street, →OCLC, page 6

   Fabio Capello insisted [Wayne] Rooney was in the right frame of mind to play in stormy Podgorica despite his father's arrest on Thursday in a probe into alleged betting irregularities, but his flash of temper – when he kicked out at Miodrag Dzudovic – suggested otherwise.

   2011 October 7, Phil McNulty, “Euro 2012: Montenegro 2 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 05 Oct 2016

5. figurativelyuncountablePizzazz, razzle-dazzle.

   Above all, they hate flash. Just as the English working class has always been, they are fiercely puritanical and abhor all forms of display.

   1970 March 29, Nik Cohn, “England's New Teen Style Is Violence”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

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   Another pleasant surprise of She-Devil is director Susan Seidelman's infusion of political moxie into the movie, a departure from her tendency to dish out lots of flash with little substance.

   1989 December 24, Elizabeth Pincus, “Screwball Glitz And Revolt Against Misogyny”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 24, page 16

   The ATF sound was lacking in extended solos, flash, and pomposity, but CBS liked the group's respect for traditional Anglo-rock, their Beatles-like energy, and the splashes of Yes, Genesis, and 10cc that colored their music.

   1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 390

   Synonyms: elan, flair

6. countableuncountableMaterial left around the edge of a moulded part at the parting line of the mould.

   Synonyms: moulding flash, molding flash

7. CockneyUKcountableuncountableThe strips of bright cloth or buttons worn around the collars of market traders.
8. countableuncountableartsA pattern where each prop is thrown and caught only once.
9. countableuncountablehuman sciencesA language, created by a minority to maintain cultural identity, that cannot be understood by the ruling class.
10. abbreviationclippingcountableuncountableartsClipping of camera flash (“a device used to produce a flash of artificial light to help illuminate a scene”).
11. archaiccountableuncountableA preparation of capsicum, burnt sugar, etc., for colouring liquor to make it look stronger.
12. countableuncountablegovernmentA form of military insignia.

    I just got my first commando flash.

13. abbreviationclippinguncountablecomputingClipping of flash memory.

    The hybrid drive has 500 gigabytes of hard disk space for bulk storage and 2 gigabytes of high-speed flash for caching frequently-accessed files.

14. countableuncountableAny of various lycaenid butterflies of the genera Artipe, Deudorix and Rapala.
15. countableuncountableA tattoo flash (example design on paper to give an idea of a possible tattoo).
16. countableuncountableThe sudden sensation of being "high" after taking a recreational drug.

    At three-thirty that afternoon Max, Tom, and Sharon placed tabs under their tongues and sat together in the living room to wait for the flash.

    1968, Joan Didion, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem

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    A few seconds following the injection, the user experiences a sudden, intense generalized sensation which has both physiological and psychological characteristics. […] pure, commercially produced products do not give a good flash […]

    1973, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency, Proper and Improper Use of Drugs by Athletes: Hearings, page 645

    The flash — the odd combination of a cocoon-comfort and an inexplicable physical ascendency to a "high" — provides the major incentive for the new experimenter to move to the next phase of his career.

    1976, Robert H. Coombs, Lincoln J. Fry, Patricia G. Lewis, Socialization in Drug Abuse, page 123

17. countableuncountableSynonym of flashback (“recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug”).

    I'd heard about LSD and wanted to try it early on, but I'd also heard of delayed reactions, called acid flashes, brought on by unexpected stimuli; they could prove fatally disorienting.

    2021, Glenn Petersen, War and the Arc of Human Experience, page 129

    Synonyms: flashback

18. countabledateduncountableA newsflash.

    The United Press got the flash "Germans declare martial law in Ruhr" […]

    1931, George Seldes, Can These Things Be!, volume 25, page 274

19. countableuncountableA brief exposure or making visible (of a smile, badge, etc).

    She ended the question with a flash of a smile that took more energy than she'd ever thought a mere smile could.

    2018 October 3, Blaine Lee Pardoe, BattleTech Legends: Measure of a Hero, Catalyst Game Labs

    2 more examples

    I didn't need them anymore. The police badge worked like a dream with both Alice and Kerry. One quick flash of the badge, and they were in the car and out of the rain. No questions asked.

    2015 October 27, Tim O'Rourke, Flashes, Scholastic Inc., →ISBN

    Gabriel grabbed her wrist and spun her around, stepping forward right in her face, showing a brief flash of fangs this time. “Not good enough. I can haul you over my shoulder if that's the way it has to be.” “I'd almost like to see you[…]

    2017 June 29, Ally Shields, Embers of Fire, Etopia Press, →ISBN

20. countableuncountableThe (intentional or unintentional) exposure of an intimate body part or undergarment in public.

    panty flash

    2 more examples

    […] the answer came to her. Camera flashes. That strobing light had been the flash of a camera. Icy panic poured through her body. She had a vision of Janet Jackson's boob flash at the Super Bowl;[…]

    2005 September 1, Lisa Cach, Have Glass Slippers, Will Travel, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 256

    “Would you like a boob flash?” Hundred token tips began to flow in. “Thanks guys, and she read off the user names. That deserves more than just a flash.” She pulled up the hem of her top and turned left and right giving them a great show[…]

    2021 April 21, Tina Gray, Fantasy Lover, Pink Flamingo Media, →ISBN

21. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountablecommunicationsEllipsis of hook flash.

comparative more flash · superlative most flash

1. AustraliaBritishNew ZealandslangExpensive-looking and demanding attention; stylish; showy.

   The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are, He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar;

   1892, Banjo Paterson, The Man from Ironbark

2. UKHaving plenty of ready money.
3. UKLiable to show off expensive possessions or money.

   Bit of a flash git, don't you think?

   1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1

4. USslangOccurring very rapidly, almost instantaneously.
5. obsoleteslangRelating to thieves and vagabonds.

   flash notes: counterfeit banknotes

   2 more examples

   the flash language: thieves' cant or slang

   Why, you would not be boosing till lightman's in a square crib like mine, as if you were in a flash panny?

   1828, Edward Bulwer Lytton Baron Lytton, Pelham, Or, Adventures of a Gentleman

plural flashes

1. A pool of water, in some areas especially one that is marshy, and/or one formed by subsidence of the ground due to mining. (Compare flush (“marsh; pool”).)

   their hearts lie lumpish as a Log that lies in a flash of water seven years together

   a. 1646, Jeremiah Burroughs, The Excellency of Holy Courage in Evil Times

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   The […] woods, commons, ponds, 'flashes,' bogs, 'damp spots,' and ditches are, when the number and rarity of some of the species are taken into account, the richest botanical ground in Lincolnshire;

   1895, The Naturalist, , page 232

   It includes deep holes, wet and dry, and the hill-and-dale formations left by the mechanical excavation of sand, gravel, clay, ironstone and other surface-worked minerals; the heaps of shale, waste products and fuel ash resulting from deep mining, manufacturing and the generation of electric power; the flashes, swamps and hollows caused by mining subsidence; the hill-side scars made by chalk, limestone and hardrock quarrying; and the ruins of abandoned industrial buildings.

   1967, R. E. Bevan, Notes on the Science and Practice of the Controlled Tipping ..., page 40

   In breeding season the important [...] sites are distributed along the Dearne and Don on the flashes, marshes, ponds and oxbows, in the carrs around Doncaster, and the flooded gravel pits at Blaxton, Finningley, Sutton and Lound (see fig. 3).

   1972, The Naturalist, numbers 920-935, page 127

   A saline coastal lagoon, up to 3m deep, behind a sand bar, with brackish marshes (flashes) and mangrove swamps. The lagoon has now been permanently opened to the sea.

   1986, A Directory of Neotropical Wetlands, page 544

   Spring waders passed through on migration, joining the fen to other flashes, marshes, rivers, seas and oceans, flying from Africa to Siberia and landing en route only where their feet might be covered with water.

   2016, Tim Dee, Four Fields, page 47

2. engineeringA reservoir and sluiceway beside a navigable stream, just above a shoal, so that the stream may pour in water as boats pass, and thus bear them over the shoal.

1. computingA multimedia platform, most often used for adding animation and interactivity to webpages.

   Your Web site doesn't have to be full of the latest dropdowns, rollovers, superslick graphics, or Flash videos.

   2007, Ray Foley, Heather Dismore, Running a Bar for Dummies, page 273

   1 more example

   Flash games are ever so popular on the Web. As the capabilities of the Flash Player continue to improve, better and more powerful games can be built.

   2012, Adrian Dobre, Dev Ramtal, Physics for Flash Games, Animation, and Simulations, page 4

1. DC ComicsAny of various DC Comics superheroes who have the power of superspeed, derived from an energy called the Speed Force.