Definition of "flash" []

• To burst forth into or as if into flame. (verb-intransitive)
• To give off light or be lighted in sudden or intermittent bursts. (verb-intransitive)
• To appear or occur suddenly: The image flashed onto the screen. (verb-intransitive)
• To move or proceed rapidly: The cars flashed by. (verb-intransitive)
• To hang up a phone line momentarily, as when using call waiting. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Aye! yet something whispered that the flash carried a meaning, was, indeed, a spark from that mightier _flash of arms_ that would, ere long, blaze out at the very mention of that name."
• "The report of the rifle was magical in its effect upon the Basuto ponies, each rearing up on its hind legs and striking out with its forefeet; but the same punishment was meted out by the riders -- namely, a sharp tap between the ears with the barrels of the rifles -- and the result was that beyond fidgeting they stood fairly still, while _flash, flash, flash_, three more shots were fired."
• "Now the darkness was cut by a bright flash of light right in front; there was the sharp crack of a rifle, and right and left _flash, crack, flash, crack_, ran along a line."