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

flashed glass, flasher, flashgun, flashing, flashing point, flashlight, flashlight fish, flashover, flashpacker, flashtube, flashy

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

flashlight

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of flashlight

Examples from the Web for flashlight

British Dictionary definitions for flashlight

flashlight

noun