verb
flashes; flashed; flashing
to shine or give off bright light suddenly or in repeated bursts [no obj]
to appear quickly or suddenly [no obj]
[no obj] :to move or pass very quickly
[no obj] of the eyes :to show strong emotion
[+ obj] :to show (something) briefly
informal :to show your sexual organs to (someone) suddenly and briefly in public [+ obj]
noun
plural flashes
[count] :a sudden bright light
[count] :a sudden appearance or occurrence of something
[noncount] usually disapproving :a fancy or exciting quality or appearance that is meant to attract attention to something that is usually not very good or interesting
a device that is used to produce a brief and very bright flash of light for taking photographs [count]
[count] :newsflash
(as) quick as a flash
informal :very quickly
flash in the pan
a person or thing that fails after being very popular or successful for a brief time
in a flash
informal :very quickly or suddenly
adjective
always used before a noun :beginning suddenly and lasting only a short time
always used before a noun US informal :very talented
[more ~; most ~] Brit informal + disapproving :flashy, showy
US