释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024flash /flæʃ/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- a brief, sudden burst of bright light or flame:a flash of lightning.
- a sudden, brief outburst or display:a flash of humor; a flash of anger.
- a very brief moment;
instant:Quick as a flash, she was gone. - a sudden thought, insight, or vision:a flash of inspiration.
- Journalisma brief dispatch giving preliminary news of an important story:a news flash from election headquarters.
- Informal Termsflashlight.
- Photography
- Photographybright artificial light thrown briefly upon a subject during a photographic exposure.
- the bulb or mechanism producing such light.
v. - to (cause to) break forth into sudden flame or light, esp. briefly or irregularly: [no object]The light on the police car was flashing.[~ + object]The police car flashed its lights.
- to gleam:[no object]The cat's eyes flashed in the darkness.
- to send forth like a flash:[~ + object]She flashed a dazzling smile.
- to appear suddenly:[no object]The answer flashed into his mind.
- to send a message quickly by electronic means:[~ + object]The reporters flashed the story to the studio in New York.
- to display briefly:[~ + object]She flashed her ID card at the guard.
adj. - sudden and brief:[before a noun]a flash fire; a flash flood.
Idioms- Idioms flash in the pan, [countable]
- a brief, intense, but pointless effort that produces small and meaningless results:The plan was no more than a flash in the pan.
- one whose promise or success is temporary:another politician who is just a flash in the pan.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024flash (flash),USA pronunciation n. - a brief, sudden burst of bright light:a flash of lightning.
- a sudden, brief outburst or display of joy, wit, etc.
- a very brief moment;
instant:I'll be back in a flash. - Informal Termsflashlight (def. 1).
- superficial, meretricious, or vulgar showiness;
ostentatious display. - JournalismAlso called news flash. a brief dispatch sent by a wire service, usually transmitting preliminary news of an important story or development. Cf. bulletin (def. 2).
- [Photog.]
- Photographybright artificial light thrown briefly upon a subject during an exposure.
- PhotographySee flash lamp.
- Photographyflashbulb.
- Photographyflashtube.
- the sudden flame or intense heat produced by a bomb or other explosive device.
- a sudden thought, insight, inspiration, or vision.
- Slang Termsrush (def. 25).
- [Metall.]
- Metallurgya ridge of metal left on a casting by a seam between parts of the mold.
- Metallurgya ridge formed at the edge of a forging or weld where excess metal has been squeezed out.
- Games[Poker.]a hand containing all five suits in a game played with a five-suit pack.
- a device, as a lock or sluice, for confining and releasing water to send a boat down a shallow stream.
- the rush of water thus produced.
- See hot flash.
- [Obs.]the cant or jargon of thieves, vagabonds, etc.
- Idioms flash in the pan:
- a brief, intense effort that produces no really significant result.
- a person who makes such an effort;
one who enjoys short-lived success.
v.i. - to break forth into sudden flame or light, esp. transiently or intermittently:a buoy flashing in the distance.
- to gleam.
- to burst suddenly into view or perception:The answer flashed into his mind.
- to move like a flash.
- to speak or behave with sudden anger, outrage, or the like (often fol. by out):to flash out at a stupid remark.
- to break into sudden action.
- Slang Termsto open one's clothes and expose the genitals suddenly, and usually briefly, in public.
- Slang Termsto experience the intense effects of a narcotic or stimulant drug.
- to dash or splash, as the sea or waves.
- [Archaic.]to make a flash or sudden display.
v.t. - to emit or send forth (fire or light) in sudden flashes.
- to cause to flash, as powder by ignition or a sword by waving.
- to send forth like a flash.
- to communicate instantaneously, as by radio or telegraph.
- to make an ostentatious display of:He's forever flashing a large roll of bills.
- to display suddenly and briefly:She flashed her ID card at the guard.
- to change (water) instantly into steam by pouring or directing onto a hot surface.
- to increase the flow of water in (a river, channel, etc.).
- Ceramics[Glassmaking and Ceram.]
- to coat (plain glass or a glass or ceramic object) with a layer of colored, opalescent, or white glass.
- to apply (such a layer).
- to color or make (glass) opaque by reheating.
- [Building Trades.]to protect from leakage with flashing.
- Games[Cards.]to expose (a card) in the process of dealing.
- [Archaic.]to dash or splash (water).
- Slang Terms flash on:
- to have a sudden thought, insight, or inspiration about.
- to have a sudden, vivid memory or mental picture of:I just flashed on that day we spent at the lake.
- to feel an instantaneous understanding and appreciation of.
adj. - sudden and brief:a flash storm.
- showy or ostentatious.
- caused by or used as protection against flash:flash injuries; flash clothing.
- counterfeit or sham.
- belonging to or connected with thieves, vagabonds, etc., or their cant or jargon.
- of or pertaining to followers of boxing, racing, etc.
- 1350–1400; Middle English flasshen to sprinkle, splash, earlier flask(i)en; probably phonesthemic in origin, originally; compare similar expressive words with fl- and -sh
flash′ing•ly, adv. - 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged flare, gleam, glare.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged twinkling, wink.
- 19.See corresponding entry in Unabridged scintillate. Flash, glance, glint, glitter mean to send forth a sudden gleam (or gleams) of bright light. To flash is to send forth light with a sudden, transient brilliancy:A shooting star flashed briefly.To glance is to emit a brilliant flash of light as a reflection from a smooth surface:Sunlight glanced from the glass windshield.Glint suggests a hard bright gleam of reflected light, as from something polished or burnished:Light glints from silver or from burnished copper.To glitter is to reflect intermittent flashes of light from a hard surface:Ice glitters in the moonlight.
- 42.See corresponding entry in Unabridged flashy, gaudy, tawdry; pretentious, superficial.
- 44.See corresponding entry in Unabridged false, fake.
FLASH (flash),USA pronunciation n. - Militarya precedence code for handling messages about initial enemy contact or operational combat messages of extreme urgency within the U.S. military.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: flash /flæʃ/ n - a sudden short blaze of intense light or flame: a flash of sunlight
- a very brief space of time: over in a flash
- Also called: newsflash a short news announcement concerning a new event
- Also called: patch chiefly Brit an insignia or emblem worn on a uniform, vehicle, etc, to identify its military formation
- a volatile mixture of inorganic salts used to produce a glaze on bricks or tiles
- a sudden rush of water down a river or watercourse
- informal
short for flashlight - (modifier) involving, using, or produced by a flash of heat, light, etc: flash blindness, flash distillation
- flash in the pan ⇒ a project, person, etc, that enjoys only short-lived success, notoriety, etc
adj - informal ostentatious or vulgar
- sham or counterfeit
- informal relating to or characteristic of the criminal underworld
- brief and rapid: flash freezing
vb - to burst or cause to burst suddenly or intermittently into flame
- to emit or reflect or cause to emit or reflect light suddenly or intermittently
- (intransitive) to move very fast: he flashed by on his bicycle
- (intransitive) to come rapidly (into the mind or vision)
- (intr; followed by out or up) to appear like a sudden light
- to signal or communicate very fast
- to signal by use of a light, such as car headlights
- (transitive) informal to display ostentatiously
- (transitive) informal to show suddenly and briefly
- (intransitive) Brit slang to expose oneself indecently
- to send a sudden rush of water down (a river, etc), or to carry (a vessel) down by this method
Etymology: 14th Century (in the sense: to rush, as of water): of unknown origin |