strobe meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

strobe

noun

UK /stɹəʊb/ · US /stɹoʊb/

Etymology Shortening of stroboscope.

A stroboscopic lamp: a device used to produce regular flashes of light.

White all light sources illuminate the subject, the strobe both illuminates and "freezes" the subject.2006, Michael Grecco, Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait, Amphoto Books, →ISBN, page 59:

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences An electronic signal in hardware indicating that a value is ready to be read.

a memory strobe; a data strobe

Derived terms: remote strobe, strobe light, strobe lighting, strobelike, strobic, strobotron

strobe

verb

Etymology Shortening of stroboscope.

To flash like a stroboscopic lamp.

... as they fuck she quakes, body strobing miles beneath him in cream and night-blue, all sound suppressed, eyes in crescents behind gold lashes...1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:
Here was a blazingly erotic sex star par excellence as Travolta gyrated around that strobing disco dance floor like a cock-o'-the-walk.1986, Sam Frank, Sex in the Movies:

1 more example

The problem was that when running cables the entire length of the tunnel, engineers had to take into account any voltage drop to ensure no lights strobe - something that could cause serious issues for drivers running at high speeds.2023 November 29, Peter Plisner, “The winds of change in Catesby Tunnel”, in RAIL, number 997, page 58: