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Showing results for flashing. Search instead for outflashing.
Synonyms

flashing

American  
[flash-ing] / ˈflæʃ ɪŋ /

noun

  1. Building Trades. pieces of sheet metal or the like used to cover and protect certain joints and angles, as where a roof comes in contact with a wall or chimney, especially against leakage.

  2. the act of creating an artificial flood in a conduit or stream, as in a sewer for cleansing it.

  3. Photography, Movies. the process of increasing film speed by exposing undeveloped film briefly to a weak light source before using it or of exposing photographic printing paper to reduce contrast.

flashing British  
/ ˈflæʃɪŋ /

noun

  1. a weatherproof material, esp thin sheet metal, used to cover the valleys between the slopes of a roof, the junction between a chimney and a roof, 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

Other Word Forms

  • interflashing noun
  • unflashing adjective

Etymology

Origin of flashing

First recorded in 1775–85; flash + -ing 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.

It’s fueling the A.I. bubble, it’s coming to your retirement portfolio—and it’s flashing a lot of warning signs right now.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

The 30-year bond yield “is the market’s long-term confidence gauge and, right now, it’s flashing caution,” said portfolio manager Vincent Ahn at Wisdom Fixed Income Management in Plano, Texas.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

"Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits. Every key climate indicator is flashing red," he warned, in a typically punchy video address.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

He was a 25-year-old tinkering with self-tanners, but all the intrigue and action seemed to be around the lab next door, with its strange music, flashing lights and tinfoil covering the porthole.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

"I'm building a butterfly mobile to hang over my bed," Bess said, her blue eyes flashing.

From "Sleepover Sleuths: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #1" by Carolyn Keene

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.