rifles 1 of 2

noun

plural of rifle
as in shotguns

Related Words

Relevance

rifles

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of rifle
as in searches
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 show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rifles
Verb
With four minutes until penalties, Spain venture forward, Cesc Fabregas slips in Iniesta, who rifles it home to win the World Cup. — Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026 Before Poeltl can complete the double-team, Towns looks to the 3-point line then rifles a right-handed pass over his own head to Bridges for the easy two under the rim. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 11 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifles
  1. muskets
  2. searches
  3. pistols
  4. combs
  5. scans
  6. rakes
Noun
  • Back then, students halted studies to pick up rifles, muskets, and bayonets.
    — Ira Porter, Christian Science Monitor, 3 July 2026
  • The new United States needed muskets, cannons, ammunition, uniforms, cloth, food and credit.
    — R. Grant Gilmore III, The Conversation, 30 June 2026
Definition of muskets
Verb
  • Ser Roxton finds Ormund’s corpse, while Gwayne searches among the rubble and ash for young Daeron.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Even so, the project enters the next stage as the United States searches for reliable domestic uranium supplies, placing its progress under closer industry scrutiny.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of searches
Noun
  • In total, Casimir purchased at least 108 firearms from federally licensed weapons stores and up to 35 firearms from an unidentified person in Florida, including rifles, pistols and shotguns of various makes and models, according to prosecutors.
    — Jay Weaver August 4, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026
  • In 2018, a Canadian man pleaded guilty to smuggling guns into Canada via the library by collecting bags of pistols stashed inside the bathroom by his American partners.
    — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 29 July 2026
Definition of pistols
Verb
  • Another founder, Sheridan Clayborne, built an AI agent that combs the internet for the best credit card and banking deals, netting him thousands of dollars.
    — Margaux MacColl, Vanity Fair, 14 July 2026
  • Zayas also combs through the dark web, a criminal haven on the internet where anonymous threat actors try to cause real-world harm.
    — Heather Abbott, CBS News, 7 June 2026
Definition of combs
Verb
  • The Rocketbook app scans the pages to popular cloud services, like Dropbox, Google Drive, Slack and One Note.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Radar then scans across 14 federal and state programs to identify benefits users may qualify for, from disability and food assistance to tax credits.
    — Victor Dey, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of scans
Verb
  • Then, as the afternoon sunshine rakes across the river valley, the group will return to the Birdwing—where canvas and paints await, according to a news release.
    — News Release, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2026
  • Participants are encouraged to bring their own shovel, gloves, and rakes as limited tools will be provided at the event.
    — Hema Sivanandam, Mercury News, 13 Oct. 2025
Definition of rakes

Browse Nearby Words

riflemen
rifles
rifling
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rifles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifles. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on rifles

Nglish: Translation of rifles for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All