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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in shotgun
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rifle
Stepheny Price , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Police conducted traffic stops on each woman, and officers found a .22-caliber rifle wrapped in a blanket in the rear seat of Stange's vehicle, according to the police department release.
—Christina Hall, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Three snaps later, Mahomes rifled a back-shoulder touchdown pass to Jason Brownee.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Verb
Authorities allege Robinson fired a single rifle shot from a rooftop sniper position, striking Kirk in the neck last Wednesday on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.
—Stepheny Price , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 16 Sep. 2025
Police conducted traffic stops on each woman, and officers found a .22-caliber rifle wrapped in a blanket in the rear seat of Stange's vehicle, according to the police department release.
—Christina Hall, Freep.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
Xander Bogaerts tried the same to lead off the second inning; Smith rifled a throw to second baseman Miguel Rojas to mark the Padres’ third out on the bases in a span of just five hitters.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 17 Aug. 2025
Three snaps later, Mahomes rifled a back-shoulder touchdown pass to Jason Brownee.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 10 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifle
Verb
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Staffers frantically searched for updates on his condition.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
14 Sep. 2025
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Users can search for specific properties of geologic units or click on the map for additional geologic information and links to more detailed maps of local areas.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said law enforcement recovered three shotgun shells, approximately 116 rifle rounds and one live round from a handgun from the scene at Annunciation.—
Mary Murphy,
Twin Cities,
16 Sep. 2025
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Most folks know that Elvis Presley—the King of Rock and Roll—was born in a shotgun shack in Tupelo, Mississippi, and died in his over-the-top mansion of Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.—
Josh Miller,
Southern Living,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The program partners with waste pickers, sorters and traders who comb landfills and other waste collection facilities for recyclable materials.—
Jennifer Bringle,
Sourcing Journal,
12 Sep. 2025
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Authorities are combing through video from the scene, including this video which appears to show a person on the roof immediately following the shooting, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation.—
Meredith Deliso,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The framers of the U.S. Constitution lived in an age of muskets and messengers, when war moved slowly and left time for Congress and the president to confer.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
23 June 2025
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On April 19, 1775, the crack of a musket marked the first official command for colonists to fire upon the red-coated army of Britain’s King George III.—
Lisa Meyers McClintick,
USA Today,
21 June 2025
Verb
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Using ironing cloths and a few leaves leftover from raking your yard, iron the leaves onto 8-by-8-inch squares of wax paper.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Sep. 2025
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Its intimate Clayes Theater has raked and very comfortable seating, so there’s great sightlines and not a bad seat in the house.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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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
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Although a gunshot from a flintlock pistol lasts only an eye blink, the sound is composed of numerous elements: the squeeze of the trigger, the strike of the firing mechanism against the flint, the ignition of the powder, the slug’s passage through the barrel, the report, the impact.—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
3 Jan. 2025
Noun
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This tank is potentially equipped with a 130mm smoothbore gun.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Guns are a part of American life, and have been since the very beginning, from the matchlock muskets arming the earliest colonies to the Colt revolvers and Winchester rifles of the Old West to the Glock handgun of today.—
Kyle Mizokami,
Popular Mechanics,
7 Mar. 2018
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First-generation matchlock rifles, tanks, and aircraft had major limitations but improved over time.—
Paul Scharre,
Foreign Affairs,
15 Feb. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Rifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifle. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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