Meanings
- idiomaticInstantaneously; very quickly; in almost no time.
It happened so fast that it was all over in a flash.
3 more examples
Then in a flash Tilehurst realised that Sprout would quite probably refer to Dixson—possibly to ask if he had been heard from since he had gone, or some equally inconvenient question.
1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of LondonTherefore its completeness, though instantaneous, was total. His realisation was in a flash, but it did not vanish like a flash.
1987, “Sri Ramanasramam Charities”, in Mountain Path, volume 24, page 152“I bet you want to come and live here in this big house in the lap of luxury with me and Biggie, don’t you?” “NO,” replied the boy in a flash.
2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBNSynonyms: fulgurant, fast as lightning, lightning fast, lightning-quick, quick as a flash, quick as a flash, lightning fast
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseInstantaneously; very quickly; in almost no time.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbwithout any delay
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 瞬間 /瞬间
- 瞬間 /瞬间 (shùnjiān)very quickly
Esperanto tuje
- tujevery quickly
Finnish silmänräpäyksessä
- silmänräpäyksessävery quickly
French en un éclair
- en un éclairvery quickly
German blitzartig, im Nu
- blitzartigvery quickly
- im Nuvery quickly
- blitzschnellvery quickly
Greek αστραπιαία
- αστραπιαία (astrapiaía)very quickly
Italian in un baleno, in un lampo
- in un balenovery quickly
- in un lampovery quickly
Polish w lot
- w lotvery quickly
Portuguese rapidamente
- rapidamentevery quickly
Spanish en un segundo, en un santiamén
- en un segundovery quickly
- en un santiaménvery quickly
- de voladavery quickly
- a la voladavery quickly
- al toquevery quickly
- altirovery quickly
Cite this entry
in a flash. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20a%20flash
“in a flash.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20a%20flash. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in a flash,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20a%20flash.
Source: in a flash on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.