as in shotgun
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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
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Recent Examples of rifle
Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 27 May 2026
Police said a rifle was recovered from Porter on the night he was killed.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Guentzel, meanwhile, had a strong game, just missing a goal after rifling one off the post in the second period before tallying the team’s first goal late in the same period, a huge one.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Noun
Bettison said the teen allegedly fired into the home with a rifle.
—Joseph Buczek, CBS News, 27 May 2026
Police said a rifle was recovered from Porter on the night he was killed.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
Verb
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—Michael Schaub, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2026
Guentzel, meanwhile, had a strong game, just missing a goal after rifling one off the post in the second period before tallying the team’s first goal late in the same period, a huge one.
—Arpon Basu, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifle
Noun
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Sarhan and his colleagues cultured live yeast from the samples, but their shotgun metagenomics results also revealed a bunch of short fragments of DNA, most bearing the kind of damage that happens when DNA molecules break down over time.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 June 2026
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And in that moment, somewhere between the bench and the hospital, another Hurricane rode shotgun in an unmarked police car (silver Mustang, lights on) speeding toward the delivery room for the birth of his own son.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
4 June 2026
Verb
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Jackson and his confidante allegedly ordered child pornography At the end of Episode 1, Amen describes how many of Jackson’s associates had their homes searched in the wake of his arrest.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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The bees will form a temporary cluster, hanging out while scouts search the surrounding area for a more permanent home in hollow spaces like tree cavities or, occasionally, the walls of a home.—
Madeline Bartos,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
Noun
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One such prize, the Nancy, was transporting 2,000 muskets, 30 tons of musket balls and a massive 15-inch brass mortar – supplies the American army desperately needed for the war effort.—
Christopher Magra,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
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Here is the sound of the settlers’ war chant, angry words that sent musket balls flying.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 May 2026
Verb
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No one, perhaps, relishes the thought of combing through a credit report, shopping around for car insurance or parsing a bank statement.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
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Firefighters then evacuated residents from a nearby apartment complex, and others combed through debris of the two-story building, searching for people who may have been trapped.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
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
-
The flintlock pistol that Torres is given by the Yautja to fight his fellow prisoners is known by Predator fans as the Raphael Adolini 1715 pistol for an engraved plate that says just that.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
13 June 2025
Verb
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The voice was faint and rasping, like the sound of pebbles raked by a wave.—
Maggie O’Farrell,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
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Likewise, rake and dispose of fallen leaves from infected trees and shrubs.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
25 May 2026
Noun
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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
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This tank is potentially equipped with a 130mm smoothbore gun.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
With feverish speed and characteristic blunderbuss, President Donald Trump has given the federal government – and himself – unprecedented control over private economic decisions.—
Matthew Mitchell,
Twin Cities,
28 Sep. 2025
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Trump would also stop treating the Europeans as enemies with his blunderbuss tariffs.—
Trudy Rubin,
Mercury News,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifle. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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