flashlight

noun

flash·light | \ ˈflash-ˌlīt

Definition of flashlight

1 : a small battery-operated portable electric light

2a : a sudden bright artificial light used in taking photographic pictures

b : a photograph taken by such a light

Examples of flashlight in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Police officers rushed in through the aisles, shining flashlights into the audience. — Michael Waters, Smithsonian, "The Stonewall of the South That History Forgot," 25 June 2019 Plan to seek out the stars after dusk, dressed in warm clothing as temperatures drop quickly, with a red light flashlight in tow. — Nneka Okona, National Geographic, "The Grand Canyon is now a Dark Sky Park—here’s why that matters," 20 June 2019 Roberts, Weidner and two other students attacked a 16-year-old in February 2017, pulling off his clothes and sodomizing him with a flashlight, according to arrest warrants and complaints filed by Texas Rangers. — Liz Teitz, ExpressNews.com, "Quartet of former La Vernia students indicted two years after hazing scandal," 18 June 2019 This is highly effective but broadcasting the pulse is like turning on a flashlight in a dark room, revealing the user’s location. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Military Could Track Objects Underwater With Seal Whiskers," 13 Aug. 2018 During the encounter with the deputies, one of the deputies eventually shined a flashlight in his face, Cambre told the news agencies. — Robert Rhoden, NOLA.com, "FBI asked to review deputies' tasing, beating of Pearl River veteran," 30 Mar. 2018 Police officers could be seen swinging flashlight beams on the sidewalk behind the police tape outside of police headquarters early Sunday morning. — BostonGlobe.com, "Man injured in shooting near Boston Police Headquarters," 8 July 2018 The 12 boys and their coach are seen sitting with Thai navy SEALs in the dark cave with their visibly skinny faces illuminated by the beam of a flashlight. — Washington Post, "Soccer players speaking from Thai cave say they are healthy," 3 July 2018 These celestial lighthouses can basically backlight the material that crosses the beam’s path, just as a flashlight beam illuminates unseen motes of dust in the air. — Amina Khan, latimes.com, "After years of searching, scientists can finally account for all the normal matter in the universe," 20 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'flashlight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.