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
Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 2 June 2025
Law enforcement officials believe the man, Ramon Morales Reyes, never wrote a letter that Noem and her department shared with a message written in light blue ink expressing anger over Trump’s deportations and threatening to shoot him in the head with a rifle at a rally.
—Mike Balsamo, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025
Hopefully, Henry can rifle off another near 2,000-yard season to help catapult Baltimore to the big show.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Noun
Maryland's assault-weapons ban Maryland's prohibition on certain semiautomatic rifles was enacted in the wake of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 2 June 2025
Law enforcement officials believe the man, Ramon Morales Reyes, never wrote a letter that Noem and her department shared with a message written in light blue ink expressing anger over Trump’s deportations and threatening to shoot him in the head with a rifle at a rally.
—Mike Balsamo, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2025
Verb
Brunson attempted to split the double but ultimately rifled a pass to Hart, who lost track of the shot clock as the time expired at the buzzer.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 Mar. 2025
Hopefully, Henry can rifle off another near 2,000-yard season to help catapult Baltimore to the big show.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifle
Noun
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Shooters use shotguns, with each shot projecting hundreds of small lead balls to hit the clay pigeons.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
7 June 2025
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Other defense measures include shooting at the drones with small guns and shotguns, and putting up netting to try to disrupt their flight.—
Laura Kelly,
The Hill,
31 May 2025
Verb
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In the days ahead, Israel’s superior intelligence apparatus will search for targets of opportunity - commanders and equipment changing location, or the movement of materiel to facilitate a response – and continue to strike.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
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The Illinois Trust Act prohibits police from searching, arresting or detaining people solely because of their immigration status.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 June 2025
Noun
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Musk is able to launch these bundles of satellites at a Gatling-gun pace, while his competitors operate at musket speed with rockets that must be rebuilt from scratch each time.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
6 May 2025
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Later, Flinders interacted with the First Nations people again, this time giving them his shot belt that included musket balls, according to the release.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
14 May 2025
Verb
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Many eagle-eyed fans have combed through the footage, mainly the backgrounds of the arenas, and found references to other Marvel characters like Dazzler, Daredevil, Thor, Wasp, Luna Snow and The Fantastic Four.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
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Reporters combed through court documents to examine charges and federal records to identify people in ICE custody.—
Hannah Critchfield,
Sun Sentinel,
29 May 2025
Noun
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Beretta traces its history to 1526, when Bartolomeo Beretta (d. 1565), a rifle barrel maker in the small northern Italian town of Gardone, sold 185 arquebus barrels—a handheld long gun and a forerunner to the modern rifle—to the Republic of Venice.—
Giacomo Tognini,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
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The worshipers insisted on congregating to pray at the crucifix in the local church and threatened to shoot with an arquebus – a long gun used during the Renaissance period – anyone who got in their way.—
Hannah Marcus,
The Conversation,
25 Sep. 2020
Verb
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Although most of its worst winds were to the east, Dorian raked the Outer Banks with wind gusts of over 100 mph, before returning to the Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane center reported.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
6 June 2025
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Hendry went for the Standing Ovation before Williams raked his eyes.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 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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First-generation matchlock rifles, tanks, and aircraft had major limitations but improved over time.—
Paul Scharre,
Foreign Affairs,
15 Feb. 2018
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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
Cite this Entry
“Rifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifle. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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