quick as a flash

adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"quick-as-a-flash" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“quick as a flash” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
16
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Extremely quick.

Corpus desk

Index EN-quick-as-a-flash · quick as a flash · English

quick as a flash · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 16 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "Q" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for quick as a flash
PropertyValue
Headwordquick as a flash
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
Letters16
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quick as a flash” sits in English frequency

quick as a flashranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quick as a flash is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Extremely quick.".

quick as a flash doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: In reference to the rapidity of flashes of lightning. The correct English form is quick as a flash, spelled Q-U-I-C-K- -A-S- -A- -F-L-A-S-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Extremely quick.

Etymology

In reference to the rapidity of flashes of lightning.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quick as a flash"?
"quick as a flash" is spelled Q-U-I-C-K- -A-S- -A- -F-L-A-S-H.
What does "quick as a flash" mean?
As an adjective, "quick as a flash" means: Extremely quick.
What is the origin of the word "quick as a flash"?
In reference to the rapidity of flashes of lightning. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

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Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list