flash

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. v. To burst forth into or as if into flame.
2. v. To give off light or be lighted in sudden or intermittent bursts.
3. v. To appear or occur suddenly: The image flashed onto the screen.
4. v. To move or proceed rapidly: The cars flashed by.
5. v. To hang up a phone line momentarily, as when using call waiting.
6. v. Slang To think of or remember something suddenly: flashed on that time we got caught in the storm.
7. v. Slang To expose oneself in an indecent manner.
8. v. To cause (light) to appear suddenly or in intermittent bursts.
9. v. To cause to burst into flame.
10. v. To reflect (light).
11. v. To cause to reflect light from (a surface).
12. v. To make known or signal by flashing lights.
13. v. To communicate or display at great speed: flashed the news to the world capitals.
14. v. To exhibit briefly.
15. v. To hang up (a phone line) momentarily, as when using call waiting.
16. v. To display ostentatiously; flaunt.
17. v. To fill suddenly with water.
18. v. To cover with a thin protective layer.
19. n. A sudden, brief, intense display of light.
20. n. A sudden perception: a flash of insight.
21. n. A split second; an instant: I'll be on my way in a flash.
22. n. A brief news dispatch or transmission.
23. n. Slang Gaudy or ostentatious display: "The antique flash and trash of an older southern California have given way to a sleeker age of cultural hip” ( Newsweek).
24. n. A flashlight.
25. n. Instantaneous illumination for photography: photograph by flash.
26. n. A device, such as a flashbulb, flashgun, or flash lamp, used to produce such illumination.
27. n. Slang The pleasurable sensation that accompanies the use of a drug; a rush.
28. n. Obsolete The language or cant of thieves, tramps, or underworld figures.
29. adj. Happening suddenly or very quickly: flash freezing.
30. adj. Slang Ostentatious; showy: a flash car.
31. adj. Of or relating to figures of quarterly economic growth released by the government and subject to later revision.
32. adj. Of or relating to photography using instantaneous illumination.
33. adj. Of or relating to thieves, swindlers, and underworld figures.
34. idiom. flash in the pan One that promises great success but fails.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To burst into sudden flame; specifically, to ignite and flare up with sudden and transient brilliancy; emit a bright flame for a moment: as, the flashing-point of oil; the powder flashed in the pan.
2. To burst forth with sudden brilliancy; break out in a transient or variable gleam or glitter; emit flashes; gleam: as, the lightning flashed continually.
3. To burst suddenly into view or perception; come or appear instantaneously: as, the scene flashed upon his sight; the solution of the problem flashed into his mind.
4. To burst suddenly into action; break out with sudden force or violence.
5. To come, move, or pass in a flashing manner; act as if in or by a flash: as, the dog flashed by in hot pursuit.
6. In glass-making, to expand, as blown glass, into a disk. See flashing, 1.
7. Hence, to fail after a showy or pretentious effort; act or strive without result; give up suddenly without accomplishing anything.
8. To emit or send forth in a sudden flash or flashes; cause to appear with sudden glitter.
9. To cause to flame up suddenly, as by ignition; produce a flash from.
10. To convey or send by instantaneous communication; cause to appear or be perceived suddenly or startlingly: as, to flash a message over the wires (of a telegraph).
11. To cause to appear flashy; trick up in a showy manner; streak; stripe.
12. In glass-making, to expand to a flat disk, as the blown globe or mass of glass, by revolving it in front of the furnace-mouth, which keeps it hot and ductile; hence, to apply a film of colored glass to by this process. See flashing, 1.
13. In electric lighting, to make (the carbon filament) incandescent. See flashing, 3.
14. n. A sudden burst of flame or light; a light instantaneously appearing and disappearing; a gleam: as, a flash from a gun.
15. n. A sudden burst of something regarded as resembling light in its effect, as color, wit, glee, energy, passion, etc.; a short, vivid, and brilliant outburst; a momentary brightness or show.
16. n. The time occupied by a flash of light; a very short period; a transient state; an instant.
17. n. plural The hot stage of a fever.
18. n. A showy or blustering person.
19. n. A quibble; jugglery with words.
20. n. A shoot of a plant.
21. n. A preparation of capsicum, burnt sugar, etc., used for coloring brandy and rum, and giving them a factitious strength.
22. n. Hence— An unsuccessful effort or outburst; a brilliant endeavor followed by failure: said of an utterly abortive effort that has been made with much parade or confidence, of an ineffective outbreak of passion, etc.
23. To dash (water); sprinkle.
24. To splash; dash about, as water.
25. To increase the flow of water in; flood with water from a reservoir or otherwise, as a stream or a sewer; flush. See flashing.
26. To splash, as waves.
27. n. A pool of water.
28. n. A sluice or lock on a navigable river, just above a shoal, to raise the water while craft are passing.
29. n. A body of water driven by violence.
30. Insipid; vapid.
31. Of or pertaining to or associated with thieves, knaves, vagabonds, prostitutes, etc.: applied especially to thieves' cant or jargon.
32. Vulgarly showy or gaudy: as, a flash dress; a flash style.
33. Expert; smart; crack.
34. In photography, to cover with an exceedingly thin layer, as of metal in a plating-bath.
35. n. In electricity, an accidental electric arc of short duration and great intensity.

Wiktionary

1. v. To briefly illuminate a scene.
2. v. To blink; to shine or illuminate intermittently.
3. v. To be visible briefly.
4. v. To make visible briefly.
5. v. To flaunt; to display in a showy manner.
6. v. To communicate quickly.
7. v. computing To write to the memory of an updatable component such as a BIOS chip or games cartridge.
8. v. transitive, intransitive, informal To expose one's naked body or underwear, or part of it, in public briefly.
9. v. metallurgy To release the pressure from a pressurized vessel.
10. v. juggling to perform a flash.
11. v. To move, or cause to move, suddenly
12. n. A sudden, short, temporary burst of light.
13. n. linguistics A language, created by a repressed minority to maintain cultural identity, that cannot be understood by the ruling class; for example, Ebonics.
14. n. A very short amount of time.
15. n. Material left around the edge of a moulded part at the parting line of the mould.
16. n. Cockney The strips of bright cloth or buttons worn around the collars of market traders.
17. n. US, colloquial A flashlight or electric torch.
18. n. juggling A pattern where each prop is thrown and caught only once.
19. adj. slang Expensive looking and attention worthy; stylish.
20. adj. UK, of a person Having plenty of ready money.
21. adj. UK, of a person Liable to show off about expensive possessions or money.
22. adj. US, slang Occurring very rapidly, almost instantaneously.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. v. To burst or break forth with a sudden and transient flood of flame and light
2. v. To break forth, as a sudden flood of light; to burst instantly and brightly on the sight; to show a momentary brilliancy; to come or pass like a flash.
3. v. To burst forth like a sudden flame; to break out violently; to rush hastily.
4. v. To send out in flashes; to cause to burst forth with sudden flame or light.
5. v. To convey as by a flash; to light up, as by a sudden flame or light
6. v. (Glass Making) To cover with a thin layer, as objects of glass with glass of a different color. See Flashing, n., 3 (b).
7. v. To trick up in a showy manner.
8. v. obsolete To strike and throw up large bodies of water from the surface; to splash.
9. n. A sudden burst of light; a flood of light instantaneously appearing and disappearing; a momentary blaze.
10. n. A sudden and brilliant burst, as of wit or genius; a momentary brightness or show.
11. n. The time during which a flash is visible; an instant; a very brief period.
12. n. A preparation of capsicum, burnt sugar, etc., for coloring and giving a fictitious strength to liquors.
13. n. a lamp for providing intense momentary light to take a photograph.
14. n. informal Same as flashlight.
15. n. (Journalism) A short news item providing recently received and usually preliminary information about an event that is considered important enough to interrupt normal broadcasting or other news delivery services; also called a news flash or bulletin.
16. adj. Showy, but counterfeit; cheap, pretentious, and vulgar
17. adj. Wearing showy, counterfeit ornaments; vulgarly pretentious; ; -- applied especially to thieves, gamblers, and prostitutes that dress in a showy way and wear much cheap jewelry.
18. n. Slang or cant of thieves and prostitutes.
19. n. Prov. Eng. A pool.
20. n. (Engineering) 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.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a lamp for providing momentary light to take a photograph
2. n. a short vivid experience
3. n. a bright patch of color used for decoration or identification
4. n. a gaudy outward display
5. n. a momentary brightness
6. adj. tastelessly showy
7. v. display proudly; act ostentatiously or pretentiously
8. v. run or move very quickly or hastily
9. n. a short news announcement concerning some on-going news story
10. v. gleam or glow intermittently
11. n. a burst of light used to communicate or illuminate
12. v. expose or show briefly
13. n. a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)
14. v. emit a brief burst of light
15. v. protect by covering with a thin sheet of metal
16. n. a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
17. v. appear briefly
18. v. make known or cause to appear with great speed
19. n. a sudden brilliant understanding