flashlight

[ flash-lahyt ]

/ ˈflæʃˌlaɪt /

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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.

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Origin of flashlight

First recorded in 1885–90; flash + light¹

Words nearby flashlight

flashgun, flashing, flashing point, flash in the pan, flash lamp, flashlight, flashlight fish, flash-lock, flash memory, flash mob, flashover

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use flashlight in a sentence

This vest includes a USB port to charge your smartphone and a built-in flashlight.
Best heated vest: Beat the cold weather with the right winter gear|PopSci Commerce Team|February 9, 2021|Popular-Science
I have to use the flashlight on my phone to find the wax at the bottom of my bag.
The Spark After the Darkness|Bonnie Tsui|February 6, 2021|Outside Online
In one case, the city paid out $125,000 when officers allegedly fractured someone’s cheekbone with a flashlight.
New York City Paid an NBA Star Millions After an NYPD Officer Broke His Leg. The Officer Paid Little Price.|by Mike Hayes for ProPublica|January 12, 2021|ProPublica
Only one player gets a flashlight, and the others must follow them everywhere.
Are you a ‘Phasmophobia’ pro? Here are some alternate rules to keep the scares fresh.|Elise Favis|January 11, 2021|Washington Post

Urbexers scavenger-hunt for sites and then crawl through closed tunnels, scour old buildings, flashlight around finished mines, and trek through old military bases.
A CIA spyplane crashed outside Area 51 a half-century ago. This explorer found it.|Sarah Scoles|January 5, 2021|Popular-Science
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
IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD... AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
36 Hours of Frozen Fury|Eric Holthaus|January 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He had a flashlight gun in his right hand, and a photographer's tripod was propped upright between his knees.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
He was carrying that self-same copper cased flashlight device.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
That paper banded to the flashlight device had carried a Seventh Avenue address.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
The thing resembled a flashlight more closely than ever on close inspection.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
He pointed the copper cased flashlight device upward toward the dark window which Black Hood was watching.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various

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

Origin of flashlight

Words nearby flashlight

Words related to flashlight

How to use flashlight in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for flashlight