flashlight

[ flash-lahyt ]

/ ˈflæʃˌlaɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flashlight ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also called, especially British, torch. a small, portable electric lamp powered by dry batteries, LEDs, or a tiny generator.

a light that flashes, as a lighthouse beacon.

any source of artificial light as used in flash photography.

Nearby words

Origin of flashlight

First recorded in 1885–90; flash + light¹

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

Examples from the Web for flashlight

No one who lives in an American city requires a flashlight to detect the presence of immigrants or the challenges they face daily.
The 2014 Novel of the Year|Nathaniel Rich|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of the rookie officers, Peter Liang, was walking with a flashlight in one hand and his gun in the other.
New York's Next Killer-Cop Grand Jury|Jacob Siegel|December 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A friend of his comes in and shines a flashlight on it and says it looks like blood.
The Stacks: The Searing Story of How Murder Stalked a Tiny New York Town|E. Jean Carroll|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Whenever Stout shone his flashlight beam into one of the rooms, it illuminated stacks of mortar shells and explosives.
The Real Monuments Men: The Coronation Chamber of Hitler|Robert Edsel|February 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Bragging about how they can access their flashlight and turn off their Wi-Fi with the flick of a finger.
Why Is Apple Punishing Me, a Loyal Fanboy, With iOS 7?|Winston Ross|September 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The door gave way and Bob toppled backward in a heap, the flashlight falling and blinking out.
Agent Nine Solves His First Case|Graham M. Dean
Often the beam of a flashlight or the slightest disturbance of the water will cause the males to stop calling.
A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico|William E. Duellman
It would be a cinch to rig up a flashlight bulb and battery inside one.
The Blue Ghost Mystery|Harold Leland Goodwin
Paul saw the shapes of Elis and Sears suddenly bright under Wright's flashlight—the only radion light left.
West Of The Sun|Edgar Pangborn
With startling agility he whirled Philip about, the flashlight clubbed in his hand.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1930|Victor Rousseau

British Dictionary definitions for flashlight

flashlight

/ (ˈflæʃˌlaɪt) /

noun

mainly US and Canadian a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteriesAlso called (in Britain and certain other countries): torch

photog the brief bright light emitted by an electronic flash unitSometimes shortened to: flash

mainly US and Canadian a light that flashes, used for signalling, in a lighthouse, etc

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 flashlight