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Flash

//flæʃ// adj, name, noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Expensive-looking and demanding attention; stylish; showy. Australia, British, New-Zealand, slang
"The barber man was small and flash, as barbers mostly are, He wore a strike-your-fancy sash, he smoked a huge cigar;"
2
Having plenty of ready money. UK
3
Liable to show off expensive possessions or money. UK
"Bit of a flash git, don't you think?"
4
Occurring very rapidly, almost instantaneously. US, slang
5
Relating to thieves and vagabonds. obsolete, slang
"the flash language: thieves' cant or slang"

Adjective

1
tastelessly showy wordnet

Proper Noun

1
A multimedia platform, most often used for adding animation and interactivity to webpages.
"Your Web site doesn't have to be full of the latest dropdowns, rollovers, superslick graphics, or Flash videos."
2
Any of various DC Comics superheroes who have the power of superspeed, derived from an energy called the Speed Force.

Noun

1
A sudden, short, temporary burst of light. countable, uncountable
"Between 8 and 9 p.m., the recorder at a meteorological station at Harrow, Middlesex, picked up 1,470 lightning flashes within a radius of 10 to 15 miles, and observers at the station described the storm as "probably one of the most spectacular of the century.""
2
A pool of water, in some areas especially one that is marshy, and/or one formed by subsidence of the ground due to mining. (Compare flush (“marsh; pool”).)
"their hearts lie lumpish as a Log that lies in a flash of water seven years together"
3
a lamp for providing momentary light to take a photograph wordnet
4
A very short amount of time. countable, uncountable
"[F]or Empire and Greatneſs it importeth moſt, that a Nation do profeſs Arms as their principal Honour, Study and Occupation: […] The Fabrick of the State of Sparta was wholly (though not wiſely) framed and compoſed to that Scope and End. The Perſians and Macedonians had it for a flaſh. The Galls, Germans, Goths, Saxons, Normans, and others had it for a time."
5
A reservoir and sluiceway beside a navigable stream, just above a shoal, so that the stream may pour in water as boats pass, and thus bear them over the shoal.

Show 28 more definitions

6
a bright patch of color used for decoration or identification wordnet
7
A flashlight; an electric torch. US, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"I reached a flash out of my car pocket and went down-grade and looked at the car."
8
a momentary brightness wordnet
9
A sudden and brilliant burst, as of genius or wit. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"[B]reath his faults ſo quaintly, / That they may ſeeme the taints of liberty; / The flaſh and out-breake of a fiery minde, / A ſauagenes in vnreclaim'd bloud of generall aſſault."
10
a sudden brilliant understanding wordnet
11
Pizzazz, razzle-dazzle. figuratively, uncountable
"Above all, they hate flash. Just as the English working class has always been, they are fiercely puritanical and abhor all forms of display."
12
a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story wordnet
13
Material left around the edge of a moulded part at the parting line of the mould. countable, uncountable
14
a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate wordnet
15
The strips of bright cloth or buttons worn around the collars of market traders. British, Cockney, countable, uncountable
16
a gaudy outward display wordnet
17
A pattern where each prop is thrown and caught only once. countable, uncountable
18
a short vivid experience wordnet
19
A language, created by a minority to maintain cultural identity, that cannot be understood by the ruling class. countable, uncountable
20
a sudden intense burst of radiant energy wordnet
21
Clipping of camera flash (“a device used to produce a flash of artificial light to help illuminate a scene”). abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncountable
22
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat) wordnet
23
A preparation of capsicum, burnt sugar, etc., for colouring liquor to make it look stronger. archaic, countable, uncountable
24
A form of military insignia. countable, uncountable
"I just got my first commando flash."
25
Clipping of flash memory. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, uncountable
"The hybrid drive has 500 gigabytes of hard disk space for bulk storage and 2 gigabytes of high-speed flash for caching frequently-accessed files."
26
Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the genera Artipe, Deudorix and Rapala. countable, uncountable
27
A tattoo flash (example design on paper to give an idea of a possible tattoo). countable, uncountable
28
The sudden sensation of being "high" after taking a recreational drug. countable, uncountable
"At three-thirty that afternoon Max, Tom, and Sharon placed tabs under their tongues and sat together in the living room to wait for the flash."
29
Synonym of flashback (“recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug”). countable, uncountable
"I'd heard about LSD and wanted to try it early on, but I'd also heard of delayed reactions, called acid flashes, brought on by unexpected stimuli; they could prove fatally disorienting."
30
A newsflash. countable, dated, uncountable
"The United Press got the flash "Germans declare martial law in Ruhr" […]"
31
A brief exposure or making visible (of a smile, badge, etc). countable, uncountable
"I didn't need them anymore. The police badge worked like a dream with both Alice and Kerry. One quick flash of the badge, and they were in the car and out of the rain. No questions asked."
32
The (intentional or unintentional) exposure of an intimate body part or undergarment in public. countable, uncountable
"panty flash"
33
Ellipsis of hook flash. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable

Verb

1
To cause to shine briefly or intermittently. transitive
"He flashed the light at the water, trying to see what made the noise."
2
appear briefly wordnet
3
To blink; to shine or illuminate intermittently. intransitive
"The light flashed on and off."
4
emit a brief burst of light wordnet
5
To be visible briefly. intransitive
"The scenery flashed by quickly."

Show 25 more definitions

6
make known or cause to appear with great speed wordnet
7
To make visible briefly. transitive
"A number will be flashed on the screen."
8
protect by covering with a thin sheet of metal wordnet
9
To expose one's intimate body part or undergarment, often momentarily and unintentionally. (Contrast streak.) ambitransitive, informal
"She flashed a vocalist at a rock concert."
10
run or move very quickly or hastily wordnet
11
To break forth like a sudden flood of light; to show a momentary brilliance. figuratively
"For although party's worn-out moulds have been shivered, and names which have flashed and thundered as the watchwords of unnumbered struggles for power are now fast waning into history, it is too much to hope, perhaps to desire, until the education of mankind shall more nearly approach its completion, that strong differences of opinion and feeling should cease to agitate the scenes on which freemen are called to discharge political duties."
12
expose or show briefly wordnet
13
To flaunt; to display in a showy manner.
"He flashed a wad of hundred-dollar bills."
14
display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously wordnet
15
To communicate quickly.
"The news services flashed the news about the end of the war to all corners of the globe."
16
gleam or glow intermittently wordnet
17
To move, or cause to move, suddenly.
"Flash forward to the present day."
18
To telephone a person, only allowing the phone to ring once, in order to request a call back. transitive
"Susan flashed Jessica, and then Jessica called her back, because Susan didn't have enough credit on her phone to make the call."
19
To evaporate suddenly. (See flash evaporation.) intransitive
20
To climb (a route) successfully on the first attempt. transitive
21
To write to the memory of (an updatable component such as a BIOS chip or games cartridge). transitive
"In order to flash a custom ROM to a phone, the boot loader must be unlocked first."
22
To cover with a thin layer, as objects of glass with glass of a different colour. transitive
23
To expand (blown glass) into a disc. transitive
24
To send by some startling or sudden means. transitive
25
To burst out into violence. intransitive
26
To perform a flash.
27
To release the pressure from a pressurized vessel.
28
To trick up in a showy manner. obsolete, transitive
"Oft have I ſeaſoned ſavory periods / With ſugar'd words, to delude Guſtus' taſte, / And oft embelliſh'd my entreative phraſe, / Limning and flaſhing it with various dyes, / To draw proud Viſus to me by the eyes: […]"
29
To strike and throw up large bodies of water from the surface; to splash. obsolete, transitive
"The varlet ſaw, when to the flood he came, / How without ſtop or ſtay he fiercely lept, / And deep himſelfe beducked in the ſame, / That in the lake his loftie creſt was ſteept, / Ne of his ſafetie ſeemed care he kept, / But with his raging armes he rudely flaſhd / The waves about, and all his armour ſwept, / That all the bloud and filth away was waſht, / Yet ſtill he bet the water, and the billows daſht."
30
To flash back.
"Kevin, one of the first buddies in Boston lies calmly, very thin in the casket. I think of his face angrily making a point at a meeting or happily hosting his Christmas party. I flash to my father's wake and the "well-meaning" people who whispered about how awful he looked as I stood by watching, wanting to scream "What did you expect?""

Etymology

Etymology 1

In some senses, from Middle English flasshen, a variant of flasken, flaskien (“to sprinkle, splash”), which was likely of imitative origin; in other senses probably of North Germanic origin akin to Swedish dialectal flasa (“to burn brightly, blaze”), related to flare. Compare also Icelandic flasa (“to rush, go hastily”).

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

From Middle English flashe, flaske, also found as flosche and flushe (whence modern English flosh and flush), used in Middle and modern English for bodies of water with varying emphasis on them being "pools" or "marshes". It is not entirely clear whether these constitute a single term with varied spellings, or have distinct etymologies. The form flash, flashe is often suggested to be from Old French flache, French flaque, which is of Germanic origin, akin to Middle Dutch vlacke (“an estuary, flats with stagnant pools”). See flush for more on that form.

Etymology 5

From flash.

Etymology 6

From flash.

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