rifle 1 of 2

noun

Definition of riflenext
as in shotgun

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rifle

2 of 2

verb

ˈrī-fəl How to pronounce rifle (audio)
as in to search
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something rifled the desk drawer in search of the insurance policy

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rifle
Noun
Saar took a smiling mammy figure and replaced the pencil a Black housekeeper would have used for her client’s grocery list with a rifle and grenade. — Tara Anne Dalbow, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026 Bill kept his rifle ready in case the bear should jump and run. — Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 15 July 2026
Verb
Vinícius exchanged passes with Bruno Guimarães on the left flank, took a few touches to cut around Neil El Aynaoui and rifled a right-footed shot past the outstretched arm of Yassine Bounou for his 10th international goal. — ABC News, 13 June 2026 The woman’s daughter showed investigators video footage showing Robinson rifling through the woman’s drawers, selecting items and hiding them on her body. — Kairi Lowery, Miami Herald, 5 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for rifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifle
  1. shotgun
  2. search
  3. musket
  4. comb
  5. flintlock
  6. rake
  7. smoothbore
  8. blunderbuss
Noun
  • After kidnapping Sam, Borden rows away from shore and raises a shotgun to his chin.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 22 July 2026
  • The unidentified woman took out a shotgun to try to scare away the adult bear and its two cubs from her dog but was attacked and hospitalized on July 9, according to the authorities.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 July 2026
Definition of shotgun
Verb
  • For years, the Royals have searched for a quality outfielder, and that desire remains.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 23 July 2026
  • Check court records While considering a practitioner or their practice in Miami-Dade County, patients can search through civil cases and criminal records at the Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts website.
    — Ella Moore July 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
Definition of search
Noun
  • Most of the statue was melted down and reformed into musket balls, and several of these are on display in the opening section of the show across from four large intact pieces of the original.
    — Cat Dawson, ARTnews.com, 3 July 2026
  • Those artifacts include musket balls found in the floorboards years ago during a renovation of Hollis Hall, a dormitory that soldiers used during fighting.
    — Ira Porter, Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2026
Definition of musket
Verb
  • This led to years of combing through the Pan Am and Coast Guard archives in search of clues about the location of the plane's wreckage.
    — Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 22 July 2026
  • Helicopters, airplanes and fishing vessels combed a roughly 1,000-square-mile area.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026
Definition of comb
Noun
  • Smoke billowed from his flintlock and Rhoades didn’t see where the buck ran after the shot.
    — Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Modern gun technologies are far, far more deadly than the one-shot flintlocks of the 18th century—shouldn’t that matter?
    — Robert J. Spitzer, Time, 6 June 2023
Definition of flintlock
Verb
  • In another video posted on Instagram on June 11, Neill was seen raking an olive tree.
    — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 13 July 2026
  • To begin care, Cuoco says to rake these areas, then aerate and reseed them.
    — Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 12 July 2026
Definition of rake
Noun
  • Both tanks mount 120-125 mm smoothbore cannons capable of engaging armored vehicles at long range.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
  • At least three states — Hawaii, Ohio and North Dakota — treat a smoothbore musket the same as an AK-47 or AR-15.
    — Allen G. Breed, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
Definition of smoothbore
Noun
  • Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.
    — Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Cost cutting ‘blunderbuss’ DOGE is part of a long line of presidential efforts to take an ax to the administrative state.
    — Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2025
Definition of blunderbuss

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Cite this Entry

“Rifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifle. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on rifle

Nglish: Translation of rifle for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about rifle

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