~ 1
■ verb
1》 shine in a bright but brief, sudden, or intermittent way.
2》 move, pass, or send very quickly: a look of terror ~ed across his face.
3》 display or be displayed briefly or repeatedly.
↘ informal display conspicuously so as to impress: they ~ their money about.
↘ informal (of a man) show one's genitals in public.
4》 ( ~ over ) make an electric circuit by sparking across a gap.
■ noun
1》 a sudden brief burst of bright light.
2》 a camera attachment that produces a ~ of light, for taking photographs in poor light.
3》 a sudden or brief manifestation or occurrence.
4》 a bright patch of colour.
↘ Brit. a coloured patch of cloth worn on a uniform as a distinguishing emblem.
5》 ( Flash ) Computing (trademark in the US) an application used to produce animation sequences that can be viewed by a browser.
6》 excess plastic or metal forced between facing surfaces as two halves of a mould close up.
7》 a rush of water, especially down a weir to take a boat over shallows.
■ adjective
1》 informal, chiefly Brit. ostentatiously stylish or expensive.
2》 archaic relating to the language of criminals or prostitutes.
Phrases
~ in the pan a sudden but brief success that is unlikely to be repeated. [with allusion to the priming of a firearm, the ~ arising from an explosion of gunpowder within the lock.]
Derivatives
~er noun
Origin
ME (in the sense 'splash water about'): prob. imitative; cf. flush 1 and splash .
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~ 2
■ noun Brit. a water-filled hollow formed by subsidence.
Origin
ME (in the sense 'a marshy place'): from OFr. flache , var. of Norman dialect flaque , from MDu. vlacke .