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
The junior then rifled a cross towards the near post, where a cutting Annabel Grentz headed it into the bottom-right corner, handing the Patriots the 2-1 advantage.
—
Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
On the Knicks’ opening offensive possession, Brunson blew by Kawhi Leonard with a crafty in-and-out, got two feet into the paint to force then rifled a pass to OG Anunoby in the corner.
—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
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought and give the hosts a 5-1 lead near the midpoint of the second period.
—Oc Register, 5 Jan. 2026
Tampa Bay erased a one-goal deficit when Jake Guentzel got behind Florida’s special teams backline and rifled a short past Sergei Bobrovsky.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
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
Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
On the Knicks’ opening offensive possession, Brunson blew by Kawhi Leonard with a crafty in-and-out, got two feet into the paint to force then rifled a pass to OG Anunoby in the corner.
—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
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought and give the hosts a 5-1 lead near the midpoint of the second period.
—Oc Register, 5 Jan. 2026
Tampa Bay erased a one-goal deficit when Jake Guentzel got behind Florida’s special teams backline and rifled a short past Sergei Bobrovsky.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifled
Verb
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According to body camera footage, Grayson and sheriff's Deputy Dawson Farley, who was not charged, searched outside Massey's home before meeting her at her door.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
30 Jan. 2026
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In addition to the murder and firearm charges, there was also the question of whether Mangione’s backpack, which was searched while he was being detained in Altoona, would be admissible as evidence in the case.—
Lorena O’Neil,
Rolling Stone,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Then one held his cellphone inches from Martinez’s face and scanned his features, capturing the shape of his eyes, the curves of his lips, the exact quadrants of his cheeks.—
Garance Burke,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
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In 2021, with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation, one of those 16mm prints was scanned at 4k and reprinted onto 35mm, helping to secure the film’s survival and legacy.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
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In 1916, the Tri-State/Denver Buddhist Temple, also known as the Denver Buddhist Church at the time, was founded at 1950 Lawrence St.—
Jessica Alvarado Gamez,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But before the country could commemorate him, and ahead of his funeral Wednesday, forensic teams combed a cemetery in northern Gaza, working to locate, exhume and identify his remains as part of a broad effort involving search teams, intelligence officers and forensic dentists.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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To help verify the deportees' stories for Human Rights Watch, the team of students combed through open source data for weeks.—
Mirella Brussani,
CBS News,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifled. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.
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