Verb Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Cameras flashed as the celebrities passed. A car was sitting on the side of the road with its lights flashing. A message flashed on the screen. The screen flashed a message in black letters. Her eyes flashed with anger. Noun A brilliant flash lit up the sky. The idea for the movie came to her in a flash of inspiration. They relied on gimmicks and flash to get people's attention. a show with a lot of flash but little substance Adjective flash floods in the local area

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Candiace gasps as the editors flash a photo of Candiace from 2002 onscreen with a fairly different looking nose. Jodi Walker, EW.com, "The Real Housewives of Potomac recap: Gone with the Wendy," 31 Aug. 2020

Hill has missed about a week of training camp — and didn’t flash much before his injury — opening more opportunities for Dobbins, who had as impressive a training camp as any player. Daniel Oyefusi, baltimoresun.com, "Final Ravens 53-man roster projection: 2019 draft pick gets cut, undrafted rookie streak continues," 31 Aug. 2020

Semajiah Ferguson, then 16 years old, stands next to White, looking at the ground as the lights flash on the patrol car at nighttime. Nicholas Casey, BostonGlobe.com, "The officer was the hero in one viral video, but another told a different story," 15 Aug. 2020

For example, if a car is in the S-class's blind-spot, a red light will flash to alert the driver. Connor Hoffman, Car and Driver, "2021 Mercedes-Benz S-Class's Interior Is All about the Screens," 12 Aug. 2020

Not only is the process basically flash freezing, but the ice cream also doesn't have a chance to melt in transit. Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "Carbonated Ice Cream Is a Feat of Physics—and It Actually Tastes Good," 5 June 2020

One of the new witnesses, according to the documents, told police this: These guys start to flash a gun and started to walk away. Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, "Attorneys for Galleria shooting suspect: New evidence bolsters his self-defense claim," 19 Aug. 2020

Monday night, El Paso’s iconic star on the Franklin Mountain was to flash 23 times in memory of the victims. Dallas News, "On the border, tears and promises that the El Paso massacre will never be forgotten or repeated," 4 Aug. 2020

Simmons has recovered from a back injury that opened the door for Shake Milton to flash his potential as a perimeter ball-handler. Staff, USA TODAY, "NBA 2019-20 bubble restart burning questions: Are Lakers, Clippers best of the West? What's at stake for Bucks?," 30 July 2020

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

One flash bang, and hundreds of furious people would be shouting and screaming at the police. Sarah Jeong, The New Republic, "The Battle of Portland," 3 Sep. 2020

The riot declaration allows officers to use crowd control methods such as tear gas or flash bang devices. chicagotribune.com, "Portland protesters set fire to county government building," 19 Aug. 2020

Later, about 1,000 protesters gathered near a big shopping mall in downtown Minsk, and police used flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets to disperse them. Yuras Karmanau, Anchorage Daily News, "Belarus protests continue after authoritarian leader retains power in election called sham," 10 Aug. 2020

The vandals also threw projectiles at police officers who were trying to disperse the crowd with pepper balls and a flash-bang, a freelance journalist reported. Emma Colton, Washington Examiner, "'Fully engulfed in flames': Portland protesters torch historic fountain depicting elk," 2 July 2020

The flash-bang grenades and pepper spray came as a shock to many who have participated in weeks of peaceful protests in Phoenix without incident. Helen Wieffering, The Arizona Republic, "'Instant chaos': Police shot into crowd minutes after beginning to clear road for Trump," 26 June 2020

Johnson said she was teargassed during two protests last week and on Wednesday hit by a police flash bang, an explosive device that makes a loud noise and emits flashes of light to stun and disorient people. Ashley Remkus | Aremkus@al.com, al, "Rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray: What happened in Huntsville through the eyes of protesters," 8 June 2020

Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union Oregon sent a letter to the state's mayors, city managers and police chiefs calling on them to ban the deployment of tear gas and flash bang devices into crowds. Nicole Chavez, CNN, "Portland is the latest city to suspend the use of tear gas on protesters," 6 June 2020

Federal law enforcement officers used gas and flash-bang grenades to clear protesters from the area. Geoff Colvin, Fortune, "What the pushback of military leaders against President Trump can teach us about leadership," 5 June 2020

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

One of the many challenges the pair faced was the fluctuating light and constant movement of the station, which typically makes non-flash photography harder to achieve. Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, "See the International Space Station Like Never Before With This Photo Book Created by an Astronaut and Photographer," 19 Aug. 2020

If the winds stay to the east, there could be flash snowfalls in the mountains. Miguel Almaguer, NBC News, "Record-breaking cold? PyeongChang braces for frigid weather ahead of Olympics," 5 Feb. 2018

Downpours were dumping a quick inch or two of rain on parts of the Baltimore region, including Ellicott City, on Tuesday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue flash flood warnings. Scott Dance, baltimoresun.com, "Howard County, Baltimore under flash flood warnings," 15 Aug. 2017

Flash flood criteria will be easily met in any location where additional rain falls. Greg Porter, Washington Post, "PM Update: Torrential rain continues on and off through the night, showers taper off on Saturday," 28 July 2017

Flash organizations may even promote upward mobility — if, say, the person brought in to crank out one-line poems can ascend to a supervisory position. Noam Scheiber, New York Times, "The Pop-Up Employer: Build a Team, Do the Job, Say Goodbye," 12 July 2017

Flash memory is used in solid-state drives that have replaced many hard drives, and in smartphones and tablets. David Staats And Kristin Rodine, idahostatesman, "New CEO ‘uniquely qualified’ to lead Micron, co-founded and led successful competitor," 27 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flash.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.