flashbulb

American  

[flash-buhlb] / ˈflæʃˌbʌlb /

Or flash bulb

noun

Photography.

1. a glass bulb, filled with oxygen and aluminum or zirconium wire or foil, which, when ignited electrically, burns with a brilliant flash to provide momentary illumination of a subject.

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flashbulb British  

/ ˈflæʃˌbʌlb /

noun

1. Also called: photoflash.  photog a small expendable glass light bulb formerly used to produce a bright flash of light Compare electronic flash

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Etymology

Origin of flashbulb

First recorded in 1930–35; flash + bulb

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flashbulb

Eventually, with all the nominees assembled, the producer and academy governor DeVon Franklin counted down to a flashbulb — pop! — then counted down again as the academy photographer took another picture.

From New York Times ● Feb. 13, 2023

For me, it became a flashbulb memory, a reminder that art has the power to not only divert people from their dispirited ruminations but also help them reframe their despairing mind-sets.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2022

A flashbulb was always startling, imprinting itself on the eyes of its subject, reminding them that their image, this moment was now in some way permanent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2022

The Kodak Flashcube—a rotating cube with a miniature flashbulb incarcerated within each of its four mirrored compartments—made amateur photography of the domestic interior possible from the mid-1960s onwards.

From Slate ● Dec. 21, 2021

Frightful was jabbing at some insect in the grass below me when suddenly a flashbulb exploded and a man appeared.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George