flashlight
Americannoun
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especially British, torch. a small, portable electric lamp powered by dry batteries, LEDs, or a tiny generator.
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a light that flashes, such as a lighthouse beacon.
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any source of artificial light as used in flash photography.
noun
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Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): torch. a small portable electric lamp powered by one or more dry batteries
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Sometimes shortened to: flash. photog the brief bright light emitted by an electronic flash unit
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a light that flashes, used for signalling, in a lighthouse, etc
Etymology
Origin of flashlight
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.
But the case was a small flashlight that cast a wide beam, revealing how the insurance industry views its own business and you, the customer.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
In experiments using mice, Edwards showed that this cancer detecting "flashlight" clearly illuminated tumors that produced EphA2.
From Science Daily • Mar. 16, 2026
One man climbed out of his car into the dark, shined a flashlight into his backpack, and brushed off the long, white sleeves of his cotton shirt.
From Slate • Jan. 27, 2026
As rain pounded the cloth of her makeshift tent in central Gaza one night recently, Jihan Khalaf kept watch with a flashlight to ensure her three children didn’t drown in their sleep.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2025
“We’ll use my torch first,” Paris said as he turned on his flashlight, illuminating the way down a narrow corridor.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
