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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rifling
The woman’s daughter showed investigators video footage showing Robinson rifling through the woman’s drawers, selecting items and hiding them on her body.
—
Kairi Lowery,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—
Julie Rousseau,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—
Michael Schaub,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Guentzel, meanwhile, had a strong game, just missing a goal after rifling one off the post in the second period before tallying the team’s first goal late in the same period, a huge one.
—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside.
—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Restaurant workers saw Wyatt rifling through the vehicle, taking things out and looking for something to steal, Batista said.
—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
2 Jan. 2026
Heise worked her way into the left faceoff circle before rifling a shot just under the crossbar to give the Frost the win and keep Vancouver winless on the road.
—
CBS News,
28 Dec. 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
Kairi Lowery,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—
Julie Rousseau,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—
Michael Schaub,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Guentzel, meanwhile, had a strong game, just missing a goal after rifling one off the post in the second period before tallying the team’s first goal late in the same period, a huge one.
—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside.
—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Restaurant workers saw Wyatt rifling through the vehicle, taking things out and looking for something to steal, Batista said.
—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
2 Jan. 2026
Heise worked her way into the left faceoff circle before rifling a shot just under the crossbar to give the Frost the win and keep Vancouver winless on the road.
—
CBS News,
28 Dec. 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
-
Haley Williams, a spokesperson for the police department, told the Idaho Statesman in a text message that officers are searching the area for the driver of the vehicle who fled the scene.
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To better understand what drives a young person to commit these crimes, CNN spent months searching for prior offenders willing to speak about their experience.
Verb
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This is the cohort that grew up skipping lines, scanning QR codes, ordering from phones and treating friction as a brand failure.
-
Those scanning the skies over the East River this summer may spot something unfamiliar — a cargo drone schlepping packages between the Downtown Skyport in lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Marine Terminal just south of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Verb
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Then a casual dig through an estate sale bin morphs into obsession, resulting in making bids at auctions, combing through the recesses of eBay or imploring friends in politics to snag you a piece.
-
Chenoweth dug deep for clues, combing through film from Walker’s younger days.
Cite this Entry
“Rifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifling. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.
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