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
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
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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As Venezuelans have slowly emerged from their homes to buy groceries, see family, and go back to work, many are leaving their phones at home, concerned about their devices being searched by armed supporters of the government known as colectivos.—
Brian Bennett,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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All price checks were searched online except Trader Joe’s.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Buildings tilt as their foundations settle into the softening soil, including critical radar installations that have scanned the skies for missiles and bombers since the 1950s.—
Paul Bierman,
Washington Post,
7 Jan. 2026
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The technology was trialled at last year’s Intercontinental Cup, where the players of Flamengo and Pyramids FC were scanned before their meeting in December.—
Dan Kilpatrick,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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However, former Federal Air Marshal Peter Johnson — who founded Archway Defense, which has trained state, local and federal law enforcement in firearms for the past decade — told WCCO the street is not the place to challenge a federal agent's orders.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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The OpenSnow reporting and forecasting service is predicting four to eight additional inches at many resorts between Wednesday evening and Friday morning, although founding meteorologist Joel Gratz acknowledged that the weather models for this system have been a bit confounding.—
John Meyer,
Denver Post,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Searchers combed the area on foot and by helicopter and trapped four bears.—
Emily Wanderer,
Washington Post,
8 Jan. 2026
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Searchers combed the area on foot and by helicopter and trapped four bears.—
Emily Wanderer,
The Conversation,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifled. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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