Rifle Definition

rīfəl

rifled, rifles, rifling

noun

rifles

A gun, fired from the shoulder, with spiral grooves cut into the inner surface of the barrel.

Webster's New World

A rifled artillery piece.

Webster's New World

Troops armed with rifles.

Webster's New World

A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.

Wiktionary

verb

rifled, rifles, rifling

To cut spiral grooves on the inside of (a gun barrel, etc.)

Webster's New World

To search hurriedly, sometimes with dishonest intent.

To rifle through a stranger's purse.

Webster's New World

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.

American Heritage

To hurl or throw with great speed.

Webster's New World

To search and rob (a person)

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Other Word Forms of Rifle

Singular:

rifle

Plural:

Middle English, from Old French rifler (“to scrape off, plunder"), from Old Low Franconian *riffilōn (compare obsolete Dutch rijffelen 'to scrape', Old English geriflian (“to wrinkle"), Middle High German riffeln (“to scratch, heckle (flax)"), Old High German riffilōn (“to saw, rub apart")), frequentative of Proto-Germanic *rÄ«fanÄ… (compare Old Norse rifa (“to tear, break")). More at rive.

From Wiktionary
From rifle to cut spiral grooves in from French rifler from Old French to plunder, scratch rifle²

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Middle English riflen to plunder from Old French rifler probably of Germanic origin

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition