flash

/flæʃ/

/flæʃ/

Other forms: flashed; flashing; flashes; flashingly; flashly

Ever notice how quick the flash is on a camera? That's how fast other types of flashes are, including the super-fast superhero The Flash.

Whether you're talking about a flash of lighting or a flash of insight, a flash is quick and bright and sudden. There aren't any slow, long flashes. Because flashes are so fast, the word is often used for anything that happens really quickly: a flash is as fast as a New York minute, the blink of an eye, a heartbeat, an instant, a jiffy, or a split second.

Definitions of flash

1. verb

   emit a brief burst of light
   “A shooting star flashed and was gone”

   type of:

   appear

   come into sight or view
2. verb

   gleam or glow intermittently
   “The lights were flashing”

   synonyms: blink, twinkle, wink, winkle

   types:

   flick, flicker

   flash intermittently

   type of:

   radiate

   cause to be seen by emitting light as if in rays
3. verb

   appear briefly
   “The headlines flashed on the screen”

   type of:

   appear

   come into sight or view
4. verb

   expose or show briefly
   “he flashed a $100 bill”

   type of:

   show

   make visible or noticeable
5. noun

   a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
   types:

   flicker, glint, spark

   a momentary flash of light

   gleam, gleaming, glimmer

   a flash of light (especially reflected light)

   coruscation, glitter, sparkle

   the occurrence of a small flash or spark

   heat flash

   a flash of intense heat (as released by an atomic explosion)

   lightning

   the flash of light that accompanies an electric discharge in the atmosphere (or something resembling such a flash); can scintillate for a second or more

   streak

   a sudden flash (as of lightning)

   heat lightning

   bright flashes of light near the horizon without thunder (especially on hot evenings); usually attributed to distant lightning that is reflected by clouds

   sheet lighting

   lightning that appears as a broad sheet; due to reflections of more distant lightning and to diffusion by the clouds

   type of:

   happening, natural event, occurrence, occurrent

   an event that happens
6. noun

   a momentary brightness
   type of:

   brightness

   the location of a visual perception along a continuum from black to white
7. noun

   a lamp for providing momentary light to take a photograph
   synonyms: flash bulb, flash lamp, flashbulb, flashgun, photoflash

   type of:

   lamp

   an artificial source of visible illumination

   photographic equipment

   equipment used by a photographer
8. noun

   a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
   synonyms: flare

   types:

   star shell

   an artillery shell containing an illuminant

   Bengal light

   a steady bright blue light; formerly used as a signal but now a firework

   Very light, Very-light

   a colored flare fired from a Very pistol

   type of:

   visual signal

   a signal that involves visual communication
9. noun

   a bright patch of color used for decoration or identification
   “red flashes adorned the airplane”

   “a flash sewn on his sleeve indicated the unit he belonged to”

   type of:

   patch

   a piece of cloth used as decoration or to mend or cover a hole
10. verb

    make known or cause to appear with great speed
    “The latest intelligence is flashed to all command posts”

    type of:

    convey

    make known; pass on, of information
11. verb

    run or move very quickly or hastily
    synonyms: dart, dash, scoot, scud, shoot

    buck, charge, shoot, shoot down, tear

    move quickly and violently

    types:

    plunge

    dash violently or with great speed or impetuosity

    type of:

    belt along, bucket along, cannonball along, hasten, hie, hotfoot, pelt along, race, rush, rush along, speed, step on it

    move fast
12. noun

    a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
    “if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash”

    synonyms: New York minute, blink of an eye, heartbeat, instant, jiffy, split second, trice, twinkling, wink

    type of:

    bit, minute, mo, moment, second

    an indefinitely short time
13. noun

    a short vivid experience
    “a flash of emotion swept over him”

    synonyms: flashing

    type of:

    experience

    an event as apprehended
14. noun

    a sudden brilliant understanding
    “he had a flash of intuition”

    type of:

    brainstorm, brainwave, insight

    the clear (and often sudden) understanding of a complex situation
15. noun

    a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story
    synonyms: news bulletin, newsbreak, newsflash

    type of:

    bulletin

    a brief report (especially an official statement issued for immediate publication or broadcast)
16. verb

    display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
    synonyms: flaunt, ostentate, show off, swank

    types:

    flex

    exhibit the strength of

    splurge

    be showy or ostentatious

    type of:

    display, exhibit, expose, showcase

    show; make visible or apparent
17. noun

    a gaudy outward display
    synonyms: fanfare, ostentation

    types:

    bluster, bravado

    a swaggering show of courage

    exhibitionism

    extravagant and conspicuous behavior intended to attract attention to yourself

    ritz

    ostentatious display of elegance, originating from chain of hotels founded by Cesar Ritz

    splurge

    an ostentatious display (of effort or extravagance etc.)

    pedantry

    an ostentatious and inappropriate display of learning

    type of:

    display

    exhibiting openly in public view
18. adjective

    tastelessly showy
    “a flash car”

    synonyms: brassy, cheap, flashy, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, glitzy, loud, meretricious, tacky, tatty, tawdry, trashy

    tasteless

    lacking aesthetic or social taste
19. verb

    protect by covering with a thin sheet of metal
    “flash the roof”

    type of:

    cover

    provide with a covering or cause to be covered