as in searched
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
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Recent Examples of rifled
Curtis was grabbing Hernandez, while Strickland rifled off multiple punches.
—
James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
The pair combined again shortly after the hour-mark, with City’s new signings teeing up Haaland by cutting the ball back across the box, before the Norwegian rifled the ball past Sa.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
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
James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
The pair combined again shortly after the hour-mark, with City’s new signings teeing up Haaland by cutting the ball back across the box, before the Norwegian rifled the ball past Sa.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifled
Verb
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Deputies and K-9s searched the area, and the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office turned to the public for help identifying the suspect.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Kansas City Star,
2 Nov. 2025
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Deputies and K-9s searched the area, collected evidence and interviewed nearby residents and employees at businesses who may have witnessed or overheard the attack.—
Talia McWright,
Twin Cities,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Students attending class each day are shown a QR code, which, after being scanned, takes them to a multiple-choice question that appears to vary by person.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Oct. 2025
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Of our participants, 35 agreed to be scanned with a form of brain imaging called functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) both before and after the birth of their child.—
Anthony Vaccaro,
Scientific American,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Jared Isaacman, who founded the payments company Shift4, has organized, funded and commanded two private astronaut missions to Earth orbit, both of them using SpaceX hardware.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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All the company had emitted since Gates founded it in 1975 would be gone, the full footprint washed away.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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When the humans return, there are only a handful, better clothed, hair braided and combed, new fashions.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
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Her mother insisted her hair be combed, her face washed, tier clothes pressed.—
Stephanie Mansfield,
Vogue,
2 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifled. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
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