flash
Pluralflashes
Verbflashes, flashing, flashed
Pluralflashes
Formsflashes, flashing, flashed
- 1
- 2To shine or light up suddenly, briefly, or repeatedly, or to make a light do this.
Emergency beacons flash to warn approaching ships.
The cursor flashed steadily on the empty screen.
UsageA light often flashes on and off; for eyes, plain flash is enough.
Note
Eyes flash as readily as lamps. In Edward Bulwer-Lytton's Night and Morning (1841), a woman's "eyes flashed," and at once her "cheek crimsoned." Placed beside the blush, the flash reads as a sudden spark of feeling, usually anger.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton wrote Night and Morning. gutenberg.org
- Night and Morning was first published in 1841. upload.wikimedia.org
- The novel describes a woman's eyes flashing and her cheek crimsoning together, using the quoted wording. gutenberg.org
- 3Sudden and brief, or happening very quickly, used before a noun as in flash flood or flash sale.
Retailers love a flash sale that opens and closes within minutes.
Heavy rain caused a flash flood that swept away two cars.
Similarsudden, instant, rapid, lightning, quick
Oppositeprolonged, lengthy, extended
Note
It is about duration, not style, so a flash sale need not be showy. That keeps it apart from the British "showy" adjective, even though the spelling is identical.
- 4Short for camera flash: a device that makes a quick, bright burst of light for taking photos.
He mounted an external flash for the indoor shoot.
The camera's built-in flash drained the battery quickly.
UsageUse a flash for the device and plain flash for the light: shooting with flash.
Note
Photographers seldom bother with the full compound camera flash. The clipped form names the device, built in or mounted on the camera, that fires a short burst of light for night or indoor shots.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The photographic noun flash is a clipping of camera flash. en.wiktionary.org
- Flash units can be built into or mounted on a camera. en.wikipedia.org
- A photographic flash produces a brief burst of light to illuminate a scene. en.wikipedia.org
- 5Short for flash memory: computer memory that keeps data without power and can be erased and written to again.
Modern drives rely on flash to read and write data quickly.
The device keeps its firmware in flash rather than on a spinning disk.
UsageUsed without a: data is stored in flash, and a drive has gigabytes of flash.
- 6To show or reveal something for a brief moment.
Protesters flash their signs whenever the cameras turn toward them.
She flashed her employee card and walked through the gate.
UsageOften with two objects, the viewer first: she flashed me a smile; or flash something at someone.
Similarshow, display, brandish, wave
Note
A verb that readily takes two objects: in "she flashed me a smile," the person who sees comes first and the thing shown comes second. Badges, smiles, numbers on a screen and, in Charlie Campbell's 2020 report from Thailand, the three-fingered Hunger Games salute are all flashed this way. When the thing shown is the body, the word shifts into the exposure meaning.
- 7An extremely brief moment of time.
The deer vanished into the trees in a flash.
He changed his mind in a flash when he saw the price.
UsageAlmost always in the set phrase in a flash.
Similarinstant, moment, second, jiffy, twinkling
Oppositeaeon
Note
In Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), something must be "done in a flash, too!" Its near neighbors are instant, jiffy and twinkle. Like them, it measures time with an image: the burst of light stands for how quickly something is over.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, first published in 1876. blogs.loc.gov
- The novel contains the exact words “done in a flash, too!” in narration reflecting Tom’s thoughts. gutenberg.org
- 8To appear, or come suddenly into the mind, for only a brief moment.
Inspiration flashed through her mind as she stared at the blank canvas.
Answers sometimes flash into your head just as the bell rings.
UsageUsually with through or into: an idea flashed into her head, memories flash through your mind.
- 9
- 10To write new data or firmware to the memory of an updatable component, such as a BIOS chip or game cartridge.
You can flash the BIOS to fix the compatibility bug.
She flashed the cartridge with a custom ROM.
UsageEither the software or the device can be the object: flash a ROM to a phone, or flash the phone.
Similarupdate, program, write, burn
Note
Engineers use the word for overwriting a device's non-volatile memory with a new image, whether on a BIOS chip, a game cartridge or a phone. Devices often have to be opened up to it first, which is why a phone's boot loader may need to be unlocked.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Flashing can write firmware images to BIOS flash memory. github.com
- Rewritable game cartridges can be flashed with ROM images. gbxcart.com
- 11A sudden, brilliant burst of something such as genius or wit.
In a flash of insight, she saw how to solve the puzzle.
The detective's flash of intuition cracked the case open.
UsageUsually a flash of plus a quality: a flash of insight, temper, genius.
Similarburst, spark, stroke, moment, flicker
Note
Writers have long used this in the pattern "flash of" plus a quality. Shakespeare's Hamlet has "the flash and out-breake of a fiery minde," William Wirt (1817) writes of "no flash of fancy," and Phil McNulty's 2011 BBC Sport report notes Wayne Rooney's "flash of temper." The quality need not be admirable. What matters is that it bursts out and is gone.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- Shakespeare's Hamlet contains the quoted wording; the speaker is Polonius in Act II, scene i. en.wikisource.org
- The William Wirt work containing the quotation was published in 1817. en.wikisource.org
- William Wirt wrote 'no flash of fancy'. en.wiktionary.org
- Phil McNulty's 2011 BBC Sport report describes Wayne Rooney's 'flash of temper'. en.wiktionary.org
- The report's quotation concerns Rooney's temper. en.wiktionary.org
- 12To return suddenly in memory to an earlier event or scene.
He flashed back to his first day at school as he walked the halls.
Survivors often flash back to the disaster without warning.
UsageThe memory follows to: flash back to your first day, or simply flash to it.
Similarreturn
Note
In Marea Murray's 1988 essay in Gay Community News, the writer moves from a friend's casket with "I flash to my father's wake," and no back is needed.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Marea Murray wrote the cited essay in Gay Community News in 1988. historyproject.omeka.net
- The writer moves from describing a friend's casket to remembering her father's wake, using the quoted words without back. en.wiktionary.org
- 13To move suddenly and swiftly, or to cause something to do so.
On race day, the cars flash by the grandstand at over two hundred miles an hour.
A figure flashed past the doorway before anyone could react.
UsageOften with past, by or across: cars flash past the window.
Similarrace, dart, streak, dash, zip
Note
Sports reporting keeps the causative use busy. Jonathan Stevenson's 2011 BBC Sport match report has a player who "flashed a header inches wide" of the post, the ball sent past in an instant. Tennyson's In Memoriam (1850) uses the intransitive, longing to "flash at once, my friend, to thee." The storyteller's flash forward, a jump ahead to a later time, belongs here too.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- Jonathan Stevenson wrote the cited BBC Sport match report in 2011. en.wikipedia.org
- The report describes David Murphy heading the ball inches wide of Rob Green's post using the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
- Alfred Tennyson wrote In Memoriam, first published in 1850. en.wikisource.org
- In Memoriam contains the quoted words, expressing a wish to reach the speaker's friend. en.wikisource.org
- 14Showy brilliance or exciting style that draws attention.
The act delivered plenty of flash, dazzling the crowd with lights and motion.
Critics praised the film's flash while noting its thin plot.
UsageOften in all flash and no substance; for amounts, say lots of flash or much flash.
Oppositeunderstatement, restraint, subtlety
Note
Uncountable and faintly suspect, this kind of flash is display for its own sake, often set against substance. Elizabeth Pincus (1989) faults a director for "lots of flash with little substance," and Nik Cohn in The New York Times (1970) describes youths who "hate flash." It takes "lots of" or "much," never "a." Its kinder relatives are flair and elan.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Elizabeth Pincus wrote in 1989 that a director tended to provide "lots of flash with little substance." en.wiktionary.org
- Nik Cohn described youths who "hate flash" in The New York Times in 1970. en.wiktionary.org
- 15To display something in a showy, attention-seeking way; to flaunt.
He flashed a thick roll of bills to impress the table.
Players who flash their trophies often annoy their teammates.
UsageOften flash something around, especially money: flashing his cash around.
- 16Showy and expensive-looking, or given to flaunting money and possessions.
The club was full of flash cars and designer suits.
That watch is a bit too flash for a job interview.
UsageOften used in a bit too flash or very flash, usually suggesting something is more showy than tasteful.
Similarflashy, showy, swanky, fancy, ostentatious
Oppositeunderstated, modest, plain
Note
In Britain, Australia and New Zealand this is slang for whatever shows off its price: a car, a watch, a suit, or the person wearing them. Banjo Paterson's The Man from Ironbark (1892) gives us a barber who is "small and flash," with his sash and huge cigar.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Banjo Paterson wrote The Man from Ironbark, first published in 1892. en.wikipedia.org
- The poem's first publication was in 1892. en.wikipedia.org
- The poem's narrator describes the barber as small and flash, wearing a sash and smoking a huge cigar. en.wikisource.org
- 17A particular type of military insignia, worn as a badge or emblem on a uniform.
He passed the course in March and proudly sewed the commando flash onto his jacket.
During inspection, the sergeant major spotted a flash stitched on crooked and sent the private back to fix it.
Note
Among soldiers a flash is something you earn and then add to: "I just got my first commando flash." The word in front names the unit or qualification it marks. Keep it apart from the quick showing of a badge: a detective flashes a badge to prove identity, while a soldier wears a flash. Like a unit patch or shoulder title, it is cloth worn to signal belonging.
Less common meanings
- 18To briefly expose an intimate body part or item of underwear, often momentarily and without meaning to.
A gust of wind nearly made her flash the whole street.
He flashed the audience as a joke and was escorted out.
UsagePlain flash someone is usually heard this way, so name what you showed: flash your pass, flash someone a smile.
Similarexpose
Note
Unlike streak, which means running naked through a public place, flashing is a momentary exposure and is often accidental, as with a skirt that is too short or a gust of wind.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Streaking means running naked through a public place. en.wikipedia.org
- 19A brief public exposure of an intimate body part or item of underwear, whether on purpose or by accident.
The singer's costume slipped, and the brief flash made headlines the next morning.
A bystander caught the accidental flash of underwear on her phone.
Similarexposure
Note
The noun often comes second in a compound that names what was shown: panty flash, boob flash. Lisa Cach's Have Glass Slippers, Will Travel (2005) uses the latter to recall Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. The exposing verb leans toward accident, but the noun covers deliberate display just as readily.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Lisa Cach wrote Have Glass Slippers, Will Travel, first published in 2005. openlibrary.org
- The book uses “boob flash” when recalling Janet Jackson at the Super Bowl. en.wiktionary.org
- 20A brief report of urgent, breaking news.
Similarbulletin, alert, update
Note
A newsroom term that now sounds dated. Wire services once called an urgent bulletin a flash: George Seldes, in Can These Things Be! (1931), recalls the United Press getting the flash "Germans declare martial law in Ruhr." Today newsflash or breaking news does the job, and flash on its own reads as period color.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- George Seldes wrote Can These Things Be!, first published in 1931. en.wikipedia.org
- Wire-service usage of flash for a news bulletin is illustrated by Seldes's account of the United Press receiving the quoted message. en.wiktionary.org
- 21
- 22The sudden, intense sensation of becoming high immediately after taking a recreational drug.
Counselors explain that the intense flash right after injecting lasts only seconds, which is why many users take more and more.
She told the support group that she had spent years chasing the flash she felt the very first time.
Note
A 1973 US Senate subcommittee and Robert H. Coombs and colleagues' Socialization in Drug Abuse (1976) both use it for the rush that follows a dose. In Joan Didion's Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968), friends take tabs and sit "to wait for the flash."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Joan Didion's essay collection Slouching Towards Bethlehem was first published in 1968. joandidion.org
- Didion describes Max, Tom and Sharon taking tabs and sitting together 'to wait for the flash'; the quotation is narration. saturdayeveningpost.com
- 23A handheld electric light; a flashlight.
I reached a flash out of my car pocket and went down-grade and looked at the car.
1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep - 24Ready-drawn tattoo designs displayed on paper or walls to show customers possible options.
- 25In climbing, to succeed on a route at one's very first attempt.
- 26To erupt suddenly into violent behavior.
- 27Having plenty of ready money available to spend.
- 28Leftover material along the edge of a molded part, found at the parting line, where the pieces of the mold come together.
- 29To call someone's phone and hang up after one ring, as a signal for them to call back.
- 30Of a liquid, to turn suddenly into vapor, as when its pressure drops sharply.
- 31To coat glass with a thin film of glass in another color.
- 32To spin a gather of blown glass out into a flat round sheet.
- 33In juggling, to throw every prop up once and catch each one before any is thrown again.
- 34To vent a sealed, high-pressure container so its pressure falls.
- 35To dress something up so that it looks flashy.
- 36To dash against water so that it sprays up in big splashes.
- 37Bands of brightly colored fabric or rows of buttons decorating a street seller's collar.
- 38In juggling, a sequence in which every object gets tossed up and caught a single time.
- 39A private cant developed by a marginal group to protect its identity, kept unintelligible to those in power.
- 40A mixture of red pepper, caramel and similar ingredients added to liquor to darken it so it seems more potent.
- 41A small butterfly of the gossamer-winged family, belonging to Rapala, Deudorix or Artipe.
- 42A return of a hallucinogen's effects long after the drug was taken.
- 43A quick press and release of a phone's hook switch, used to signal the exchange, as for call waiting.
- 44Belonging to or typical of the criminal underworld of thieves and tramps.
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 - 45A pond or marshy pool, often one that forms where land has sunk over old mine workings.
- 46A basin with a sluice next to a river above a shallow stretch, opened to release extra water so boats can float over the shallows.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
Some senses come from flasshen, a Middle English variant of flasken ("to sprinkle, splash") that was likely imitative. Other senses probably have a North Germanic origin, akin to flasa ("to burn brightly, blaze") in Swedish dialects, as well as related to flare. Icelandic flasa ("to rush") may also be compared.