as in shotgun
Related Words
Relevance
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
Julia Frankel, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Shortly after, Kitchens said Dickey fired eight to 10 rounds from a rifle toward officials.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 14 Mar. 2026
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Noun
On Thursday, Ayman Ghazali waited in his car outside Temple Israel, near Detroit, for about two hours with a rifle, commercial grade fireworks and jugs of liquid believed to be gasoline, before crashing into the building full of dozens of children, according to authorities.
—Julia Frankel, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
Shortly after, Kitchens said Dickey fired eight to 10 rounds from a rifle toward officials.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 14 Mar. 2026
Verb
Towns reversed the ball back to Brunson, who rifled a pass to Bridges on a cut to the paint.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifle
Noun
-
Lillian Bonsignore, the first former EMS responder ever picked to run the fire department, will join past and present firefighters and EMS members at Fort Totten in Queens to commemorate the shotgun wedding’s pearl anniversary on Monday.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Hands are stabbed, feet are liquidated, fingers are severed, bodies are impaled (at one point an entire butcher block of kitchen knives has to be used to subdue Todd), an ear and a nose are bitten off, shotgun holes are blown into faces, and prison rape is treated as a parlor game.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Authorities are searching for three missing crew members from the Mayuree Naree after 20 were rescued by the Omani navy, according to Thailand's Marine Department.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Over two decades, the A’s searched for a new stadium, and the revenue a shiny state-of-the-art building could drive.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Then the French started to standardize their muskets.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
4 Feb. 2026
-
His 134 men were armed with musket, cartridge pouch, and sword in case of a hostile encounter, and the Africaansche Galey lay close by with a couple of small cannon brought forward on the bow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Because Buckley has short hair, a chignon or updo was not an option—but combed neatly back with a side part, clearing the face, feels like a very Grace Kelly detail.—
Ana Serrano,
Glamour,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Police also covered the lake in those first few hours, and dogs and drones have combed the area to no avail.—
Sarah Dahlberg,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 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
-
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power Saturday after high winds raked eastward from the Great Lakes region, leaving trees down and substantial property damage in their wake.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Mar. 2026
-
The wood jambs supporting your front and back entryways can quickly get coated with pollen during springtime, and mowing and raking the lawn kicks up dust and dirt that settles along the frame.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
