flash-bang

[flash-bang]

noun

1. Also called flash-bang grenade. Also called flash grenade,. a type of grenade that explodes with a loud noise and a dazzling flash of light, used to distract or momentarily disorient people without injuring them.

   He used a flash-bang from his own utility belt to temporarily blind his pursuers.

   The group is concerned that gear like flash-bang grenades and shock cuffs are leading to more aggressive policing.

2. a dazzling flash of light accompanied by a loud noise.

   The thick smoke mingled with the occasional flash-bang of a surplus grenade.

3. attention-grabbing, thrilling, or impressive character; glitz; showiness.

   Grounded in real-world issues, the stories examined the seamier side of life often ignored in the flash-bang of other superhero comics.

adjective

1. relating to or characterized by a combination of bright light and loud noise.

   An intense hail started, followed by extremely close, flash-bang lightning.

2. catching the attention in an impressive or thrilling way; showy.

   The flash-bang, hair-trigger excitement of the movie’s early scenes progressively loses impact as the stumbling saga unfolds.

   Not all sports injuries are of a flash-bang type—some are cumulative, built up over months or even years.

Word History and Origins

Origin of flash-bang¹

First recorded in 1840–45

Example Sentences

After Border Patrol agents were spotted setting up a staging area outside a Home Depot, hundreds of protesters gathered, some hurled rocks at federal vehicles as agents fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades at the crowd.

From Los Angeles Times

They were also harmed by their own flash-bang grenades and tear gas.

From Salon

Vera’s order bars the department from using less-lethal munitions and other crowd-control tools such chemical irritants and flash-bang grenades “against journalists who are not posing a threat of imminent harm to an officer or another person.”

From Los Angeles Times

Early Monday evening, after a few hundred people ignored dispersal orders near the Federal Building, police — firing less-lethal munitions and tossing flash-bang grenades — pushed protesters into Little Tokyo, where businesses and the Japanese American National Museum were heavily vandalized.

From Los Angeles Times

But then tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades were used — by federal agents, Newsom implied.

From Los Angeles Times