What does flash mean?

flash means "a sudden intense burst of radiant energy". That is the primary sense; the word has 19 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in flash?

flash has 1 syllable: flash. In IPA it is /ˈflæʃ/.

What is another word for flash?

Close synonyms include flashing, blink of an eye, heartbeat, instant, jiffy. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is flash a common word?

flash is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

flash — meaning, pronunciation and 19 definitions

noun

10 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
Broaderhappening
Narrowerflicker gleam glitter heat flash lightning streak
2.
a momentary brightness
Broaderbrightness
3.
a short vivid experience
“a flash of emotion swept over him”
“the flashings of pain were a warning”
Synonymsflashing
Broaderexperience
4.
a sudden brilliant understanding
“he had a flash of intuition”
Broaderinsight
5.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
“if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash”
Synonymsblink of an eye heartbeat instant jiffy split second trice twinkling wink New York minute
Broadermoment
6.
a gaudy outward display
Synonymsostentation fanfare
Broaderdisplay
Narrowerbravado exhibitionism ritz splurge pedantry
7.
a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
Synonymsflare
Broadervisual signal
Narrowerstar shell Bengal light Very light
8.
a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story
Synonymsnews bulletin newsflash newsbreak
Broaderbulletin
9.
a bright patch of color used for decoration or identification
“red flashes adorned the airplane”
“a flash sewn on his sleeve indicated the unit he belonged to”
Broaderpatch
10.
a lamp for providing momentary light to take a photograph
Synonymsphotoflash flash lamp flashgun flashbulb flash bulb
Broaderlamp photographic equipment
Part offlash camera

verb

8 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
gleam or glow intermittently
“The lights were flashing”
Synonymsblink wink twinkle winkle
Broaderradiate
Narrowerflicker
2.
appear briefly
“The headlines flashed on the screen”
Broaderappear
3.
display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
“he showed off his new sports car”
Synonymsflaunt show off ostentate swank
Broaderexpose
Narrowerflex splurge
4.
make known or cause to appear with great speed
“The latest intelligence is flashed to all command posts”
Broaderconvey
5.
run or move very quickly or hastily
“She dashed into the yard”
Synonymsdart dash scoot scud shoot
Broaderrush
Narrowerplunge
6.
expose or show briefly
“he flashed a $100 bill”
Broadershow
7.
protect by covering with a thin sheet of metal
“flash the roof”
Broadercover
8.
emit a brief burst of light
“A shooting star flashed and was gone”
Broaderappear

adjective

1 senseA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
tastelessly showy
“a flash car”
“a flashy ring”
“garish colors”
“a gaudy costume”
“loud sport shirts”
“a meretricious yet stylish book”
“tawdry ornaments”
Synonymsbrassy cheap flashy garish gaudy gimcrack loud meretricious tacky tatty tawdry trashy
Similartasteless

Other forms of flash

plural: flashes·
past tense: flashed·
present participle: flashing·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about flash

What does flash mean?: flash means "a sudden intense burst of radiant energy". That is the primary sense; the word has 19 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in flash?: flash has 1 syllable: flash. In IPA it is /ˈflæʃ/.
What is another word for flash?: Close synonyms include flashing, blink of an eye, heartbeat, instant, jiffy. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is flash a common word?: flash is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for flash come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.

noun

10 sensesA person, place, thing, quality or idea.

1.
a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
Broaderhappening
Narrowerflicker gleam glitter heat flash lightning streak
2.
a momentary brightness
Broaderbrightness
3.
a short vivid experience
“a flash of emotion swept over him”
“the flashings of pain were a warning”
Synonymsflashing
Broaderexperience
4.
a sudden brilliant understanding
“he had a flash of intuition”
Broaderinsight
5.
a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
“if I had the chance I'd do it in a flash”
Synonymsblink of an eye heartbeat instant jiffy split second trice twinkling wink New York minute
Broadermoment
6.
a gaudy outward display
Synonymsostentation fanfare
Broaderdisplay
Narrowerbravado exhibitionism ritz splurge pedantry
7.
a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
Synonymsflare
Broadervisual signal
Narrowerstar shell Bengal light Very light
8.
a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story
Synonymsnews bulletin newsflash newsbreak
Broaderbulletin
9.
a bright patch of color used for decoration or identification
“red flashes adorned the airplane”
“a flash sewn on his sleeve indicated the unit he belonged to”
Broaderpatch
10.
a lamp for providing momentary light to take a photograph
Synonymsphotoflash flash lamp flashgun flashbulb flash bulb
Broaderlamp photographic equipment
Part offlash camera

verb

8 sensesAn action, occurrence or state of being.

1.
gleam or glow intermittently
“The lights were flashing”
Synonymsblink wink twinkle winkle
Broaderradiate
Narrowerflicker
2.
appear briefly
“The headlines flashed on the screen”
Broaderappear
3.
display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
“he showed off his new sports car”
Synonymsflaunt show off ostentate swank
Broaderexpose
Narrowerflex splurge
4.
make known or cause to appear with great speed
“The latest intelligence is flashed to all command posts”
Broaderconvey
5.
run or move very quickly or hastily
“She dashed into the yard”
Synonymsdart dash scoot scud shoot
Broaderrush
Narrowerplunge
6.
expose or show briefly
“he flashed a $100 bill”
Broadershow
7.
protect by covering with a thin sheet of metal
“flash the roof”
Broadercover
8.
emit a brief burst of light
“A shooting star flashed and was gone”
Broaderappear

adjective

1 senseA word that describes or qualifies a noun.

1.
tastelessly showy
“a flash car”
“a flashy ring”
“garish colors”
“a gaudy costume”
“loud sport shirts”
“a meretricious yet stylish book”
“tawdry ornaments”
Synonymsbrassy cheap flashy garish gaudy gimcrack loud meretricious tacky tatty tawdry trashy
Similartasteless

Other forms of flash

plural: flashes·
past tense: flashed·
present participle: flashing·

Questions about flash

What does flash mean?: flash means "a sudden intense burst of radiant energy". That is the primary sense; the word has 19 in total, listed in full on this page.
How many syllables are in flash?: flash has 1 syllable: flash. In IPA it is /ˈflæʃ/.
What is another word for flash?: Close synonyms include flashing, blink of an eye, heartbeat, instant, jiffy. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.
Is flash a common word?: flash is banded "Common" — everyday vocabulary in speech and writing. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.

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flash

noun

verb

adjective

Other forms of flash

Questions about flash

Tools

Jump to

Images & video

PDF & writing

Calculate & convert

Health & fitness

AI, code & work

Learn & play

Tool directories

Search

Jump to

Explore AltFTool

Help

Theme

flash

noun

verb

adjective

Other forms of flash

Questions about flash