Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Sheet metal used to reinforce and weatherproof the joints and angles of a roof.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In electricity, on commutators of direct-current dynamo-electric machines, the carrying of a spark from one brush to another, when it appears as a flash encircling the commutator-surface.
  • noun In glass-making: The reheating of partially formed glassware in a flashing-furnace to restore the plastic condition, and to smooth rough edges.
  • noun The act or process of heating a globe of blown glass, and giving it a rapid rotary motion, so that the opening already made in it will widen till the globe flashes suddenly into a flat disk.
  • noun A mode of coating a globe of hot colorless glass with a film of colored glass, usually red, and blowing them together until they flash into a disk.
  • noun In architecture, pieces of lead, zinc, or other metal, used to protect the joining when a roof comes in contact with a wall, or when a chimney-shaft or other object comes through a roof, and the like.
  • noun In the manufacture of incandescent lamps, the operation of raising the carbon filament to incandescence in an atmosphere of coal-gas, for the purpose of hardening and smoothing the carbons, and equalizing their resistance.
  • noun The act of creating an artificial flood in a conduit or stream, as in a sewer for cleansing it, or at shallows in a river by penning up the water either in the river itself or in side reservoirs. See flushing.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Engineering) The creation of an artifical flood by the sudden letting in of a body of water; -- called also flushing.
  • noun (Arch.) Pieces of metal, built into the joints of a wall, so as to lap over the edge of the gutters or to cover the edge of the roofing; also, similar pieces used to cover the valleys of roofs of slate, shingles, or the like. By extension, the metal covering of ridges and hips of roofs; also, in the United States, the protecting of angles and breaks in walls of frame houses with waterproof material, tarred paper, or the like. Cf. Filleting.
  • noun The reheating of an article at the furnace aperture during manufacture to restore its plastic condition; esp., the reheating of a globe of crown glass to allow it to assume a flat shape as it is rotated.
  • noun A mode of covering transparent white glass with a film of colored glass.
  • noun (Chem.) that degree of temperature at which a volatile oil gives off vapor in sufficient quantity to burn, or flash, on the approach of a flame, used as a test of the comparative safety of oils, esp. kerosene; a flashing point of 100° F. is regarded as a fairly safe standard. The burning point of the oil is usually from ten to thirty degree above the flashing point of its vapor. Usually called flash point.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun roofing Components used to weatherproof or seal roof system edges at perimeters, penetrations, walls, expansion joints, valleys, drains and other places where the roof covering is interrupted or terminated.
  • noun The process of getting rid of gaps on shelves by bringing products from the back of the shelf to the front to create a 'fuller' shelf.
  • noun The blinking of a light source, such as a light bulb or computer's cursor.
  • noun The exposing of one's naked body, or part of it, in public briefly (the action of the verb to flash).
  • verb Present participle of flash.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun sheet metal shaped and attached to a roof for strength and weatherproofing
  • noun a short vivid experience

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

(weatherproofing) From original flashing material of copper or aluminum that reflects flashes of sunlight.

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Examples

  • I now know that the audience is seeing my name flashing up in big Tron letters on the video wall as wide as the stage.

    Fallin’ Up Steve Dennis 2011

  • I now know that the audience is seeing my name flashing up in big Tron letters on the video wall as wide as the stage.

    Fallin’ Up Steve Dennis 2011

  • I now know that the audience is seeing my name flashing up in big Tron letters on the video wall as wide as the stage.

    Fallin’ Up Steve Dennis 2011

  • The third ring froze me in place when I saw the name flashing on the caller ID.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • The third ring froze me in place when I saw the name flashing on the caller ID.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • Committee Chairman Reno DeLuzio said he is prepared to fight on Oct. 27 for what he describes as a flashing-beacon system that would sense when trail users are approaching the intersection, flash them a red light and flash yellow to street traffic.

    The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS 2008

  • And now,” he added, his expression flashing with gallantry, “I’d like to dedicate this first song to my beautiful girlfriend, Alice.”

    Kiss & Break Up Kate Kingsley 2010

  • And now,” he added, his expression flashing with gallantry, “I’d like to dedicate this first song to my beautiful girlfriend, Alice.”

    Kiss & Break Up Kate Kingsley 2010

  • The name flashing on my cell phone reminded me that I haven’t picked up a book in a very long time.

    Cupcake Rachel Cohn 2007

  • The name flashing on my cell phone reminded me that I haven’t picked up a book in a very long time.

    Cupcake Rachel Cohn 2007

Comments

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  • In glassmaking, flashing is the process of applying a very thin layer of one color of glass over a layer of contrasting color. A gather of hot glass is dipped into a crucible containing hot glass of the second color. The upper layer may be too thin to be worked in relief. The term also refers to the act of reheating a parison by inserting it into a glory hole and removing it quickly.

    November 9, 2007

  • How indecent!

    November 9, 2007

  • Wait'll you see some of the other terms.

    November 9, 2007