as in searching
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 rifling
Then Josh Allen flexed in the fourth quarter — escaping the pocket for a 27-yard scramble before rifling a 28-yard touchdown pass to Dalton Kincaid one play later — to pull away for the 31-19 victory.
—
Zak Keefer, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Best All-Time NFL Wide Receivers Starting slow in the NFL matters more than ending the season with a win streak, unless that win streak is rifling off 8-10 wins.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Zak Keefer, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Best All-Time NFL Wide Receivers Starting slow in the NFL matters more than ending the season with a win streak, unless that win streak is rifling off 8-10 wins.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifling
Verb
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In the Atacama Desert, a young woman dreams of becoming an astronaut while investigating her mother’s mysterious death and searching for the father who abandoned her.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
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The location was one of several that the company explored when searching for a spot in the city.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The dachshund sat in the front seat, scanning the outside for someone to walk past.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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In seconds, anyone in the room can join the fun simply by scanning a QR code.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Detectives, according to police officials, are interviewing witnesses and combing through surveillance video in an effort to identify suspects.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
5 Oct. 2025
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In true Swiftie fashion, social media has fast become inundated with fans combing through each lyric of the 12-track record for Easter eggs about Swift's life, double entendres, and hints at who certain tracks might be about.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifling. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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