flashgun

American

[flash-guhn] / ˈflæʃˌgʌn /

noun

Photography.

a device that simultaneously discharges a flashbulb and operates a camera shutter.

Etymology

Origin of flashgun

First recorded in 1925–30; flash + gun ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was regarded as an explosives expert and was involved in the development of the technology used to trigger the mortar using a photographic flashgun.

From BBC • Sep. 29, 2021

And using the flashgun methods of illuminating nighttime shots, Riis also set at least three fires, according to the current Library of Congress exhibition “Jacob Riis: Revealing ‘How the Other Half Lives.’

From Washington Post • Aug. 19, 2016

But in recent months, largely in anticipation of a flashgun reception for the new compact Instamatics, investors have pushed up Eastman-Kodak's stock from 72 to an alltime high of 113�.

From Time Magazine Archive

Burl held his Plutonian flashgun at the ready.

From The Secret of the Ninth Planet by Wollheim, Donald Allen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023