flashover
noun
flash·over
ˈflash-ˌō-vər 
1
: an abnormal electrical discharge (as through the air to the ground from a high potential source or between two conducting portions of a structure)
2
: the sudden spread of flame over an area when it becomes heated to the flash point
Examples of flashover in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Angry smoke typically occurs before a flashover–a very rapid and often violent phase of fire development.
—
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 1 May 2025
In the natural-material room, flashover took longer than 30 minutes.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
The rate of disruptive flashovers—arcs of electric current that sometimes leapt from the wires to the steel towers and into the earth—jumped dramatically, leading to power interruptions seconds to minutes long every two or three days on average.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 June 2015
The crew became trapped in a canyon during a flashover, their situation further complicated by problems with radio communications that caused challenges in determining the crew's exact location.
—Lacey Latch, The Arizona Republic, 27 June 2023
Bates had managed to document the most dramatic instance of exterior flashover ever observed.
—John Vaillant, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2023
Clearly flashover had occurred.
—Douglas Starr, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2011
In those strikes, victims can experience burns on their skin as a portion of the current moves over the skin's surface (called flashover), but the greatest concern is the portion of the current that moves through the body's cardiovascular and nervous systems.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, 20 Jan. 2022
Wood fires, especially those that reach flashover, frequently exceed the melting point of metals..
—Douglas Starr, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2011
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Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 1 May 2025
In the natural-material room, flashover took longer than 30 minutes.
—Zoë Schlanger, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
The rate of disruptive flashovers—arcs of electric current that sometimes leapt from the wires to the steel towers and into the earth—jumped dramatically, leading to power interruptions seconds to minutes long every two or three days on average.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 June 2015
The crew became trapped in a canyon during a flashover, their situation further complicated by problems with radio communications that caused challenges in determining the crew's exact location.
—Lacey Latch, The Arizona Republic, 27 June 2023
Bates had managed to document the most dramatic instance of exterior flashover ever observed.
—John Vaillant, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2023
Clearly flashover had occurred.
—Douglas Starr, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2011
In those strikes, victims can experience burns on their skin as a portion of the current moves over the skin's surface (called flashover), but the greatest concern is the portion of the current that moves through the body's cardiovascular and nervous systems.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE.com, 20 Jan. 2022
Wood fires, especially those that reach flashover, frequently exceed the melting point of metals..
—Douglas Starr, Discover Magazine, 23 Oct. 2011
Cite this Entry
“Flashover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flashover. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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