Learn English – Difference between “lightning bolt” and “lightning flash”

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A. I was frightened by a bolt of lightning

B. I was frightened by a flash of lightning

Here are two sentences above, and I chose B as my answer, but answer in my book turns out to be A. I found that there are both expressions available in my dictionary, which makes me confused and not know which one is more acceptable. I’m wondering whether there are some nuances in two sentences.

The definitions:

bolt: lightning that appears as a white line in the sky

flash: a bright light that shines for a short time and then stops shining

Best Answer

  1. bolt - a flash of lightning that looks like a white line against the sky
  2. flash - a sudden bright light that quickly disappears

A lightning flash is the entire discharge whereas a lightning bolt is a single jagged white line from the discharge.

I must admit that both are frightening.

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