Advertisement - Continue reading below

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.

Use "flash" in a sentence
  • "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."