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
Janelle Griffith, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
In the new video, Westman, with hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a T-shirt, is seen browsing the firearms and, at one point, even hoisting a rifle and aiming it.
—ABC News, 2 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
Westman was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, according to police, who said the three guns were legally purchased.
—Janelle Griffith, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
In the new video, Westman, with hair pulled back in a ponytail and wearing a T-shirt, is seen browsing the firearms and, at one point, even hoisting a rifle and aiming it.
—ABC News, 2 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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Every bag and piece of equipment that comes through security on Sunday will be scanned and thoroughly searched.—
Adam Zagoria,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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To search the restaurant inspections, type in a keyword or restaurant name.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 Sep. 2025
Noun
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This is because common techniques rely on a decades-old sequencing technology called shotgun metagenomics, that frequently misses bacterial populations from complex samples.—
Steven Savage,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Anyone riding shotgun will ask for seconds, and by day’s end, the 765’s Pirelli P-Zeros have left a solid strip of 11s.—
Sean Evans,
Robb Report,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Victor Campos gently combed away sawdust clinging to Oden’s hide as an auctioneer’s voice echoed Saturday through the Gold Country Fair.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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The explosion of attention was traumatizing — death threats slipped under her dorm room door, paparazzi combed through her trash, and she was forced off campus with round-the-clock security.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
5 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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Leave this mulch layer in place through winter to insulate your garlic from the cold, and then rake it away and compost the mulch in spring when your garlic starts to produce fresh leafy growth.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Sep. 2025
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Fall color doesn't have to mean a bunch of blowing and raking.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
1 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 11 Sep. 2025.
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