rifle

1 of 4

verb (1)

ri·​fle ˈrī-fəl How to pronounce rifle (audio)
rifled; rifling ˈrī-f(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rifle (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to ransack especially with the intent to steal
2
: to steal and carry away

intransitive verb

: to engage in ransacking and stealing
rifler noun

rifle

2 of 4

verb (2)

rifled; rifling ˈrī-f(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rifle (audio)

transitive verb

: to cut spiral grooves into the bore of
rifled arms
rifled pipe

rifle

3 of 4

noun

1
a
: a shoulder weapon with a rifled bore
b
: a rifled artillery piece
2
rifles plural : soldiers armed with rifles

rifle

4 of 4

verb (3)

rifled; rifling ˈrī-f(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rifle (audio)

transitive verb

: to hit or throw (a ball) with great force or speed

Examples of rifle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Gregory was arrested at the scene, and a rifle was recovered nearby. Caleb Lunetta, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024 He was released in 2020, but he was arrested about two months later and charged with federal weapons violations after a deputy saw him in a rural field with a rifle. CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024 On the hillside opposite us, three Israeli soldiers and a man with a rifle stood watching. Shane Bauer, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Hostage negotiators were requested to respond to the scene, but Garcia opened the front door with a rifle in his hand. Abigail Celaya, The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 The detectives found methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, packaging for narcotics sales, about $2,000 in cash and several firearms including rifles and handguns, according to the post. Rosalio Ahumada, Sacramento Bee, 22 Feb. 2024 Investigators found three handguns, two rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition while searching a house in Southeast Washington a day after three D.C. police officers were shot at the start of an armed standoff earlier this week, authorities said Friday. Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 Star photographers show fans hiding and an officer with a rifle raised. Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 20 Feb. 2024 Separately, services at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston resumed Sunday morning with a large security presence one week after a woman accompanied by her 7-year-old son walked into the megachurch armed with a rifle and opened fire. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 19 Feb. 2024
Verb
From the 11:50 mark of the first half to the 5:02 mark, San Diego State rifled off 6-0 spurt ... followed by an 8-0 burst from Colorado State ... followed by an 8-0 answer from the home team ... followed by a 5-0 silencer from the plucky visitors. Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Feb. 2024 Rantanen opened the scoring 1:23 into the contest with his 28th of the season, intercepting a Devils clearing attempt and rifling the puck past Vanecek. Allan Kreda, USA TODAY, 7 Feb. 2024 No one is, but Stroud is slightly bigger and can rifle a pass. Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 19 Jan. 2024 The hackers then use the malware to harvest as many credentials as possible belonging to various employees and devices on the infected network and to rifle around the network. Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 23 Jan. 2024 Left-winger José María lobs a ball over to Messi who sits it on his left foot and finally has space and rifles a low drive into the corner. John Hopewell, Variety, 16 Jan. 2024 After Kylian Mbappe rifled his penalty into the top corner of the Newcastle United net there was only one thing anyone would be talking about postgame: the controversial handball which had led to its award. Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023 Sly, a freshman, got the ball on the wing, beat her defender, and rifled a bar over the keeper's head into the back netting. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Sep. 2023 Andie Adams, Bishop Chatard The senior defender clinched a 2-2 (7-6 PK) win over Brebeuf, coming up seventh and rifling her attempt off the goalkeeper and in. Brian Haenchen, The Indianapolis Star, 28 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rifle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English, from Anglo-French rifler to scrape off, plunder, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German riffilōn to saw, obsolete Dutch rijffelen to scrape

Verb (2)

perhaps from French rifler to scratch, file, from Middle French, to scrape, plunder

and Verb (3)

First Known Use

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Verb (2)

1635, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (3)

1937, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rifle was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near rifle

Cite this Entry

“Rifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rifle. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

rifle

1 of 4 verb
ri·​fle ˈrī-fəl How to pronounce rifle (audio)
rifled; rifling -f(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rifle (audio)
1
: to search through fast and roughly especially in order to steal
rifled the coat pockets for loose change
2
rifler noun

rifle

2 of 4 verb
rifled; rifling -f(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rifle (audio)
: to cut spiral grooves on the inside of a barrel of
rifled arms

rifle

3 of 4 noun
1
a
: a weapon with a long rifled barrel that is designed to be fired from the shoulder
b
: a rifled artillery piece
2
plural : a body of soldiers armed with rifles

rifle

4 of 4 verb
rifled; rifling -f(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce rifle (audio)
: to hit or throw a ball with great force
Etymology

Verb

Middle English riflen "to steal or carry away by force," from early French rifler "to scrape off, plunder"; of Germanic origin

Verb

perhaps from French rifler "to scratch, file," from early French, "to scrape off, plunder"

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