See Also: Flash(money)
flash(medicine)
hot flash(medicine)
Flash(finance)
flash(1)(dictionary)
flash(2)(dictionary)
flash(3)(dictionary)
flash(4)(dictionary)
flash(dictionary)
flash 1, verb(dictionary)

flash(3) (iou)



flash noun2. M16.
[from FLASH verb.]
I. A burst of light. Cf. FLASH verb II.
A sudden, transitory burst or blaze of flame or light. M16.
flash in the pan: see PAN noun1.
K. Clark The dark landscape is lit only by terrific flashes of lightning.
b. A flashlight, an electric torch. E20.
c. A photographic flashlight; a photograph taken using this. M20.
electronic flash: see ELECTRONIC adjective.
A brief period of time (during which a flash is visible); an instant. Usu. in in a flash immediately, instantaneously. E17.
A brief outburst or transient display of something (seen as resembling a flash of light); esp. a sudden access of feeling or knowledge. E17.
hot flash: see HOT adjective.
Shakespeare Hamlet Your flashes of merriment that were wont to set the table on a roar. J. Conrad He gave us a flash of his white teeth. Aldous Huxley To some people..there come little flashes of illuminationmomentary glimpses into the nature of the world.
b. A brief news dispatch or bulletin (orig. by telegraph, now on radio or television). M19.
c. A brief scene on film or television. E20.
a. A piece of showy talk; an empty phrase. E17-M18.
b. Superficial brilliancy; ostentation. L17.
Clive James The man was all artist, humble under the flash.
c. [from FLASH adjective.] Thieves' slang, cant. Now chiefly Hist. M18.
patter flash: see PATTER verb1 3.
A superficially brilliant or showy person. E17-E19.
a. A coloured patch of cloth on a uniform or other clothing, esp. on the upper arm or shoulder and with the distinguishing device of a regiment, country, etc. M19.
b. A patch of or of bright colour on a darker background. L20.
C. Phillips Leila's mother had large flashes of grey in her hair.
Excess metal, plastic, etc., forced between facing surfaces as two halves of a mould close up, forming a thin projection on the final object. E20.
A thin layer (of glass, chrome, etc.). E20.
II. A sudden movement of water. Cf. FLASH verb I.
a. A splash of water; a large wave. E17-E18.
b. A sudden rush of water let down from a weir to increase the depth of the river temporarily. Also, a contrivance for producing this. L17.
A sudden burst of rain, wind, etc. M17-E19.
Comb.: flash bulb: producing a flash of light used for photography under conditions of low light; flash burn: caused by sudden intense heat, esp. from a nuclear explosion; flash card: with words etc., shown briefly to a child by a teacher as an aid to learning; flash-cube a set of (four) flash bulbs arranged as a cube and operated in turn; flash-dry verb trans. dry in a very short time; flash-flood a sudden, destructive flood; flash-freeze verb trans. freeze (food etc.) very rapidly so as to prevent the formation of ice crystals; flash-gun a device to hold and operate a camera flashlight; flash-lamp (a) a portable flashing electric lamp, esp. an electric torch; (b) = flashlight (b) below; flashlight (a) a flashing light used in signalling, lighthouses, etc.; (b) a device which provides a burst of intense illumination for photography in dark conditions; (c) = flash-lamp (a) above; flash photolysis Chemistry the use of a very brief intense flash of light to bring about gas-phase decomposition or dissociation, usu. as a means of studying short-lived molecules etc.; flashpoint (a) the lowest temperature at which the vapour from an oil etc. will ignite in air; (b) fig. a point of climax at which violent action (as loss of temper, active hostility, etc.) begins; flash powder a powder which burns rapidly with a bright flash, esp. as formerly used in photography; flash tube a gas-discharge tube used to provide an electronic flash when a current is suddenly passed through it.
flashless adjective without a flash, emitting no flash; (of gunpowder etc.) emitting no flash when ignited: E20.