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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of rifle
Holly Yan, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
Prosecutors allege that Gage Peirce fired a semi-automatic rifle at the victims multiple times.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 2 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—Julie Rousseau, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Noun
At one point, the shooter stopped, got out of his vehicle and fired rounds with a rifle at an officer who returned fire, according to the Midland Police Department.
—Holly Yan, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
Prosecutors allege that Gage Peirce fired a semi-automatic rifle at the victims multiple times.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 12 June 2026
Verb
Fisher then dangled past a series of defenders, and rifled a shot on net.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 2 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—Julie Rousseau, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for rifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifle
Noun
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Authorities also found a shotgun on the floor with one spent shell casing nearby.—
Janelle Griffith,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026
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On June 6, 1966, on a stretch of Highway 51 just south of Hernando, Mississippi, a portly, middle-aged white man named Aubrey Norvell stepped out of a gully, lifted his shotgun and fired three shots at James Meredith, a Black civil rights activist and Air Force veteran.—
Aram Goudsouzian,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Investigators are searching for 22-year-old Oscar Sanchez-Munoz after a standoff at a home in the 700 block of Brookside Avenue.—
Ben Wheeler,
Kansas City Star,
18 June 2026
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At a certain point, letting those structures come apart a little brings you back to spontaneity, to searching, to surprise, and above all, to simplicity.—
Alma Rota,
Rolling Stone,
17 June 2026
Noun
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Time your visit for the weekend, when rangers bring history alive with booming musket and cannon demonstrations.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
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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
Verb
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Activists and political figures now often comb through the biographies of journalists at major institutions looking for instances of past behavior that could signal political bias.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
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The fatal crash has rocked the small Missouri city as state, local and federal officials comb through evidence to pinpoint its cause.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2026
Noun
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Smoke billowed from his flintlock and Rhoades didn’t see where the buck ran after the shot.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
28 Jan. 2026
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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
Verb
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After severe thunderstorms raked Washington on Friday evening, the Kennedy Center sought one more extension before complying with a noon Saturday deadline.—
Steven Sloan,
Chicago Tribune,
13 June 2026
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How To Clean Cotton/Jersey Gardening Gloves Cotton makes a good all-purpose glove for raking leaves and tidying your yard.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
8 June 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
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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 19 Jun. 2026.
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