flasher

[ flash-er ]

/ ˈflæʃ ər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flasher ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that flashes.

a flashing light operated by a switching device that automatically turns it on and off alternately.

a signal light on an automotive vehicle that can be made to flash, as to indicate the intention of making a turn or to call attention to a vehicle that has slowed or stopped in a hazardous place.Compare turn signal.

the switching device that operates such a light.

Slang. a person, especially a man, who exposes the genitals suddenly, and usually briefly, in public.

Nearby words

Origin of flasher

First recorded in 1605–15; flash + -er¹

flash

[ flash ]

/ flæʃ /

noun

a brief, sudden burst of bright light: a flash of lightning.

a sudden, brief outburst or display of joy, wit, etc.

a very brief moment; instant: I'll be back in a flash.

Informal. flashlight(def 1).

superficial, meretricious, or vulgar showiness; ostentatious display.

Also called news flash. Journalism. a brief dispatch sent by a wire service, usually transmitting preliminary news of an important story or development.Compare bulletin(def 2).

Photography.

bright artificial light thrown briefly upon a subject during an exposure.
flash lamp.
flashbulb.
flashtube.

the sudden flame or intense heat produced by a bomb or other explosive device.

a sudden thought, insight, inspiration, or vision.

Slang. rush¹(def 26).

Metallurgy.

a ridge of metal left on a casting by a seam between parts of the mold.
a ridge formed at the edge of a forging or weld where excess metal has been squeezed out.

Poker. a hand containing all five suits in a game played with a five-suit pack.

a device, as a lock or sluice, for confining and releasing water to send a boat down a shallow stream.

the rush of water thus produced.

hot flash.

Obsolete. the cant or jargon of thieves, vagabonds, etc.

verb (used without object)

to break forth into sudden flame or light, especially transiently or intermittently: a buoy flashing in the distance.

to gleam.

to burst suddenly into view or perception: The answer flashed into his mind.

to move like a flash.

to speak or behave with sudden anger, outrage, or the like (often followed by out): to flash out at a stupid remark.

to break into sudden action.

Slang. to open one's clothes and expose the genitals suddenly, and usually briefly, in public.

Slang. to experience the intense effects of a narcotic or stimulant drug.

to dash or splash, as the sea or waves.

Archaic. to make a flash or sudden display.

verb (used with object)

to emit or send forth (fire or light) in sudden flashes.

to cause to flash, as powder by ignition or a sword by waving.

to send forth like a flash.

to communicate instantaneously, as by radio or telegraph.

to make an ostentatious display of: He's forever flashing a large roll of bills.

to display suddenly and briefly: She flashed her ID card at the guard.

to change (water) instantly into steam by pouring or directing onto a hot surface.

to increase the flow of water in (a river, channel, etc.).

Glassmaking and Ceramics.

to coat (plain glass or a glass or ceramic object) with a layer of colored, opalescent, or white glass.
to apply (such a layer).
to color or make (glass) opaque by reheating.

Building Trades. to protect from leakage with flashing.

Cards. to expose (a card) in the process of dealing.

Archaic. to dash or splash (water).

adjective

sudden and brief: a flash storm.

showy or ostentatious.

caused by or used as protection against flash: flash injuries; flash clothing.

counterfeit or sham.

belonging to or connected with thieves, vagabonds, etc., or their cant or jargon.

of or relating to followers of boxing, racing, etc.

Origin of flash

1350–1400; Middle English flasshen to sprinkle, splash, earlier flask(i)en; probably phonesthemic in orig.; compare similar expressive words with fl- and -sh

SYNONYMS FOR flash

1. flare, gleam, glare. 3. twinkling, wink. 18. scintillate. Flash, glance, glint, glitter mean to send forth a sudden gleam (or gleams) of bright light. To flash is to send forth light with a sudden, transient brilliancy: A shooting star flashed briefly. To glance is to emit a brilliant flash of light as a reflection from a smooth surface: Sunlight glanced from the glass windshield. Glint suggests a hard bright gleam of reflected light, as from something polished or burnished: Light glints from silver or from burnished copper. To glitter is to reflect intermittent flashes of light from a hard surface: Ice glitters in the moonlight. 40. flashy, gaudy, tawdry; pretentious, superficial. 42. false, fake.

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Related formsflash·ing·ly, adverbout·flash, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flasher

If we are with Mr. Flasher at a quarter past, we shall just hit the best time.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Captain Flasher did not give satisfaction, which indeed was not to be expected, considering that he wanted a subscription.
Ask Momma|R. S. Surtees
A Flasher,—to swear how often the bank had been stripped by lucky players.
The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims|Andrew Steinmetz

British Dictionary definitions for flasher

flasher

/ (ˈflæʃə) /

noun

something that flashes, such as a direction indicator on a vehicle

British slang a person who indecently exposes himself

flash

/ (flæʃ) /

noun

a sudden short blaze of intense light or flamea flash of sunlight

a sudden occurrence or display, esp one suggestive of brilliancea flash of understanding

a very brief space of timeover in a flash

an ostentatious displaya flash of her diamonds

Also called: newsflash a short news announcement concerning a new event

Also called: patch mainly British an insignia or emblem worn on a uniform, vehicle, etc, to identify its military formation

a patch of bright colour on a dark background, such as light marking on an animal

a volatile mixture of inorganic salts used to produce a glaze on bricks or tiles

a sudden rush of water down a river or watercourse
a device, such as a sluice, for producing such a rush

photog informal short for flashlight (def. 2), flash photography

a ridge of thin metal or plastic formed on a moulded object by the extrusion of excess material between dies

Yorkshire and Lancashire dialect a pond, esp one produced as a consequence of subsidence

(modifier) involving, using, or produced by a flash of heat, light, etcflash blindness; flash distillation

flash in the pan a project, person, etc, that enjoys only short-lived success, notoriety, etc

adjective

informal ostentatious or vulgar

informal of or relating to gamblers and followers of boxing and racing

sham or counterfeit

informal relating to or characteristic of the criminal underworld

brief and rapidflash freezing

verb

to burst or cause to burst suddenly or intermittently into flame

to emit or reflect or cause to emit or reflect light suddenly or intermittently

(intr) to move very fasthe flashed by on his bicycle

(intr) to come rapidly (into the mind or vision)

(intr; foll by out or up) to appear like a sudden lighthis anger really flashes out at times

to signal or communicate very fastto flash a message
to signal by use of a light, such as car headlights

(tr) informal to display ostentatiouslyto flash money around

(tr) informal to show suddenly and briefly

(intr) British slang to expose oneself indecently

(tr) to cover (a roof) with flashing

to send a sudden rush of water down (a river, etc), or to carry (a vessel) down by this method

(in the making of glass) to coat (glass) with a thin layer of glass of a different colour

(tr) to subject to a brief pulse of heat or radiation

(tr) to change (a liquid) to a gas by causing it to hit a hot surface

obsolete to splash or dash (water)

Word Origin for flash

C14 (in the sense: to rush, as of water): of unknown origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for flasher

flasher

"male genital exhibitionist," 1960s (though meat-flasher in this sense was attested in 1890s); agent noun from flash (v.).

flash

1560s, from flash (v.); originally of lightning. Meaning "first news report" is from 1857. Meaning "photographic lamp" is from 1913. The comic book character dates to 1940. Flash in the pan (1809) is from old-style guns, where the powder might ignite in the pan but fail to spark the main charge.

flash

late 14c., from flasken (c.1300) "to dash or splash" (as water), probably imitative. Related: Flashed; flashing. Sense of "give off a sudden burst of light or flame" is 1540s. Flash flood is from 1940. Flash card is from 1923. Flash cube (remember those?) is from 1965.

Idioms and Phrases with flasher

flash

In addition to the idiom beginning with flash

flash in the pan

also see:

in a flash
quick as a wink (flash)

flasher

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of flasher

flash

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

adjective

Origin of flash

Examples from the Web for flasher

flasher

noun

flash

noun

adjective

verb

Word Origin for flash

flasher

flash

flash

flash