rifle

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Related to rifle: rifle through

ri·fle¹

(rī′fəl)

a. A firearm with a spirally grooved bore, designed to be fired from the shoulder.

b. An artillery piece or naval gun with a spirally grooved bore.

2. rifles Troops armed with rifles.

tr.v. ri·fled, ri·fling, ri·fles

To cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, for example).

[Short for rifle gun, rifled gun, from rifle, to cut spiral grooves in, from French rifler, to scratch, from Middle French, from Old French; see rifle².]

ri·fle²

(rī′fəl)

v. ri·fled, ri·fling, ri·fles

v. tr.

1. To search (an area or container, for example) thoroughly, especially using the hands with the intent to steal or remove something: rifled the desk, looking for the keys.

2. To rob or search with the intent to rob: rifled the travelers of their belongings.

3. To steal (goods).

v. intr.

To search vigorously: rifling through my drawers to find matching socks.

[Middle English riflen, to plunder, from Middle French rifler, from Old French rifler, to scratch, brush up against, from Old High German riffilōn, to scrape, scratch; akin to Old Norse rīfa, to rive.]

ri′fler n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

rifle

(ˈraɪfəl)

1. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery)

a. 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

b. (as modifier): rifle fire.

2. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) (formerly) a large cannon with a rifled bore

3. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) one of the grooves in a rifled bore

4. (Military) (plural)

a. a unit of soldiers equipped with rifles

b. (capital when part of a name): the Rifle Brigade.

vb (tr)

5. (Firearms, Gunnery, Ordnance & Artillery) to cut or mould spiral grooves inside the barrel of (a gun)

6. (General Sporting Terms) to throw or hit (a ball) with great speed

[C18: from Old French rifler to scratch; related to Low German rifeln from riefe groove, furrow]

rifle

(ˈraɪfəl)

vb (tr)

1. to search (a house, safe, etc) and steal from it; ransack

2. to steal and carry off: to rifle goods from a shop.

[C14: from Old French rifler to plunder, scratch, of Germanic origin]

ˈrifler n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ri•fle¹

(ˈraɪ fəl)

n., v. -fled, -fling. n.

1. a shoulder firearm with a rifled bore.

2. a rifled cannon.

3. rifles, a military unit equipped with rifles.

v.t.

4. to cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, pipe, etc.).

5. to propel (a ball) at high speed.

[1745–55; < Low German rīfeln to groove, derivative of rīve, riefe groove, furrow; akin to Old English rifelede wrinkled]

ri•fle²

(ˈraɪ fəl)

v.t. -fled, -fling.

1. to ransack and rob.

2. to steal and take away.

[1325–75; Middle English < Old French rifler to scratch, strip, plunder, probably < Germanic; compare Old High German riffilōn to tear]

ri′fler, n.

rifle

Past participle: rifled
Gerund: rifling

Imperative
rifle
rifle

Present
I rifle
you rifle
he/she/it rifles
we rifle
you rifle
they rifle

Preterite
I rifled
you rifled
he/she/it rifled
we rifled
you rifled
they rifled

Present Continuous
I am rifling
you are rifling
he/she/it is rifling
we are rifling
you are rifling
they are rifling

Present Perfect
I have rifled
you have rifled
he/she/it has rifled
we have rifled
you have rifled
they have rifled

Past Continuous
I was rifling
you were rifling
he/she/it was rifling
we were rifling
you were rifling
they were rifling

Past Perfect
I had rifled
you had rifled
he/she/it had rifled
we had rifled
you had rifled
they had rifled

Future
I will rifle
you will rifle
he/she/it will rifle
we will rifle
you will rifle
they will rifle

Future Perfect
I will have rifled
you will have rifled
he/she/it will have rifled
we will have rifled
you will have rifled
they will have rifled

Future Continuous
I will be rifling
you will be rifling
he/she/it will be rifling
we will be rifling
you will be rifling
they will be rifling

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been rifling
you have been rifling
he/she/it has been rifling
we have been rifling
you have been rifling
they have been rifling

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been rifling
you will have been rifling
he/she/it will have been rifling
we will have been rifling
you will have been rifling
they will have been rifling

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been rifling
you had been rifling
he/she/it had been rifling
we had been rifling
you had been rifling
they had been rifling

Conditional
I would rifle
you would rifle
he/she/it would rifle
we would rifle
you would rifle
they would rifle

Past Conditional
I would have rifled
you would have rifled
he/she/it would have rifled
we would have rifled
you would have rifled
they would have rifled

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	rifle - a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore; "he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired" bolt - a sliding bar in a breech-loading firearm that ejects an empty cartridge and replaces it and closes the breech carbine - light automatic rifle firearm, small-arm, piece - a portable gun; "he wore his firearm in a shoulder holster" Garand, Garand rifle, M-1, M-1 rifle - a semiautomatic rifle pump action, slide action - action mechanism in a modern rifle or shotgun; a back and forward motion of a sliding lever ejects the empty shell case and cocks the firearm and loads a new round rifle butt - the butt end of a rifle precision rifle, sniper rifle - an extremely powerful rifle developed for the military; capable of destroying light armored vehicles and aircraft more than a mile away Winchester - a shoulder rifle
Verb	1.	rifle - steal goods; take as spoils; "During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners" despoil, foray, pillage, ransack, reave, loot, plunder, strip take - take by force; "Hitler took the Baltic Republics"; "The army took the fort on the hill" deplume, displume - strip of honors, possessions, or attributes
	2.	rifle - go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way; "Who rifled through my desk drawers?" go search - subject to a search; "The police searched the suspect"; "We searched the whole house for the missing keys"

rifle

verb

1. rummage, go, search, hunt, rake, sift, forage, fossick (Austral. & N.Z.) The men rifled through his clothing.

2. ransack, rob, burgle, loot, strip, sack, gut, plunder, pillage, despoil The child rifled the till while her mother distracted the postmistress.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

بُنْدُقِيَّةبُنْدُقِيَّهيَسْرِقيُفَتِّش

puškaukrástprohledat

riffelstjælegennemsøgegevær

Gewehr rauben Büchse durchsuchen

τουφέκι καραμπίνα

rifle desvalijar fusil rebuscar revolver

تفنگ

kivääri

fusil rafler dévaliser

puška

átkutat és kirabolpuska

riffillstelaleita í

fucile rapinare rigare svaligiare carabina

ライフル銃

소총

šautuvas

nolaupītnozagtpārmeklētšautenevandīties

geweer karabijn

rifle rivle rote gjennom

karabin

espingarda fuzil rifle

puşcă

винтовка ружьё

prehádzaťpuška

puška

gevär

ปืนเล็กยาว

tüfek çalmak karıştırmak

súng trường

偷窃快速搜寻来福枪步枪

rifle

¹ [ˈraɪfl] VT (= search) → desvalijar
to rifle a case → desvalijar una maleta
the house had been rifled → habían saqueado la casa
they rifled the house in search of money → saquearon la casa en busca de dinero
to rifle sb's pockets → vaciar los bolsillos a algn

rifle through VI + PREP → rebuscar en, revolver

rifle

² [ˈraɪfl]

A. N

1. (= gun) → rifle m, fusil m

2. the Rifles (= regiment) → los fusileros, el regimiento de fusileros

B. VT (Tech) → estriar, rayar

C. CPD rifle butt N → culata f de rifle
rifle fire N → fuego m de fusilería
rifle range N (Mil) → campo m de tiro; (at fair) → barraca f de tiro al blanco
rifle shot N → tiro m de fusil
within rifle shot → a tiro de fusil

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

rifle

[ˈraɪf^əl]

n → fusil m
a hunting rifle → un fusil de chasse

modif [barrel, butt, fire, shot] → de fusil

vt [+ house, room] → vider, dévaliser

rifle through

vt fus [+ drawer, handbag, clothes, pile] → fouiller dans

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

rifle

rifle association

n → Schützenverein m

rifle butt

n → Gewehrkolben m

rifle club

n → Schützenverein m

rifleman

n → (Gewehr)schütze m

rifle practice

n (Mil) → Schießübung f

rifle range

n → Schießstand m; within rifle → in Schussweite (eines Gewehrs)

riflescope

n → Zielfernrohr nt

rifle shot

n → Gewehrschuss m

rifle

town → plündern; (also rifle through) sb’s pockets, drawer, till, house → durchwühlen

ball, shot → donnern (inf)

rifle

n (= gun) → Gewehr nt (mit gezogenem Lauf); (for hunting) → Büchse f; the Rifles (Mil) → ˜ die Schützen pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

rifle

¹ [ˈraɪfl] vt (house, till) → ripulire, svuotare

rifle through vi + prep → frugare

rifle

² [ˈraɪfl] n → fucile m, carabina

rifle

(ˈraifl) noun

a gun with a long barrel, fired from the shoulder. The soldiers are being taught to shoot with rifles.

verb

1. to search (through something). The thief rifled through the drawers.

2. to steal. The document had been rifled.

ˈrifle-range noun

a place for rifle practice.

rifle

→ بُنْدُقِيَّة puška riffel Gewehr τουφέκι rifle kivääri fusil puška fucile ライフル銃 소총 geweer rivle karabin rifle винтовка gevär ปืนเล็กยาว tüfek súng trường 步枪

References in classic literature ?

The hunters came trooping on deck with shot-guns and ammunition-boxes, and, most unusual, their rifles. The latter were rarely taken in the boats, for a seal shot at long range with a rifle invariably sank before a boat could reach it.

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The better to do so, I went afoot, armed with a Henry rifle and carrying three days' rations in my haversack.

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The tall soldier, having prepared his rifle, pro- duced a red handkerchief of some kind.

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All at once, his eyes rested on the butt of his rifle, which jutted above the rim of the car.

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The blow which he aimed would most surely have killed him, but that Trent, with the butt-end of a rifle, broke its force a little.

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While this scene was taking place, Bridger left the main body of trappers and rode slowly toward the group of smokers, with his rifle resting across the pommel of his saddle.

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He seemed to have gone mad with rage at the realization that he could not overtake her, and then he threw his rifle to his shoulder, aimed carefully at the slim figure scrambling into the trees, and fired.

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As his interested gaze moved hither and thither from one point of interest to another he heard from a point upon the hillside below him, above the roar of cannon and the crack of rifle fire, a single rifle spit.

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The fifth sailor, rifle in hand, was standing guard by the water-tank just for'ard of the mainmast.

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The man had a good start and the tree was not far away; but the speed of the enormous creature behind him was something to marvel at, yet Tippet was in a fair way to make his sanctuary when his foot caught in a tangle of roots and down he went, his rifle flying from his hand and falling several yards away.

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The sight that met his eyes must have frozen him with horror, for there, within the door, stood three great bull apes, while behind them crowded many more; how many he never knew, for his revolvers were hanging on the far wall beside his rifle, and Kerchak was charging.

View in context

Directly beneath him he caught sight of the muzzle of a rifle, barely projecting between two black bodies, that was slowly elevating toward him.

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