1. A sudden, intense fire that spreads rapidly through a room or building when heat and gases ignite simultaneously across a wide area.
Usage: plural form; fire science and firefighting term
2. An electrical discharge that jumps across an insulating gap or surface, bypassing the intended path.
Usage: plural form; electrical engineering term

Examples

• Firefighters must evacuate immediately when they detect signs of an impending flashover.
• The training video showed how flashovers can occur within seconds in an enclosed space.
• Flashovers in high-voltage equipment can cause serious damage and safety hazards.
• The investigation revealed that the fire spread through multiple flashovers across the building.
• Electrical flashovers at the transformer station knocked out power to the neighborhood.
• Understanding flashover behavior is critical for fire safety and building design.