rifle
1 Americannoun
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a shoulder firearm with spiral grooves cut in the inner surface of the gun barrel to give the bullet a rotatory motion and thus a more precise trajectory.
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one of the grooves.
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a cannon with such grooves.
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Often Rifles any of certain military units or bodies equipped with rifles.
verb (used with object)
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to cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, pipe, etc.).
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to propel (a ball) at high speed, as by throwing or hitting with a bat.
verb (used with object)
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to ransack and rob (a place, receptacle, etc.).
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to search and rob (a person).
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to plunder or strip bare.
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to steal or take away.
noun
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a firearm having a long barrel with a spirally grooved interior, which imparts to the bullet spinning motion and thus greater accuracy over a longer range
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( as modifier )
rifle fire
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(formerly) a large cannon with a rifled bore
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one of the grooves in a rifled bore
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(plural)
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a unit of soldiers equipped with rifles
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( capital when part of a name )
the Rifle Brigade
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verb
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to cut or mould spiral grooves inside the barrel of (a gun)
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to throw or hit (a ball) with great speed
verb
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to search (a house, safe, etc) and steal from it; ransack
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to steal and carry off
to rifle goods from a shop
Related Words
See rob.
Other Word Forms
- rifler noun
Etymology
Origin of rifle1
An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; from Low German rīfeln “to groove,” derivative of rīve, riefe “groove, flute, furrow”; akin to Old English rifelede “wrinkled”
Origin of rifle2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rifel, from Old French rifler “to scratch, strip, plunder”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Inside, some people had brought prams, others, who were reservists, their assault rifles while some began praying in a small group.
From Barron's
In 1768 King George III filled Boston with armed troops, creating a powder keg; in two years the spark of a single rifle shot would explode the Boston Massacre.
Both the Union and Confederate governments stockpiled rifles and cannons in anticipation of conflict.
From Literature
From somewhere close by, there was a loud crack that sounded like a hundred rifles had gone off, all at the same time.
From Literature
WSJ: Powell gives a rifle shot of a speech at Jackson Hole that year.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
