What does "rifle" mean?
A firearm fired from the shoulder; improved range and accuracy is provided by a long, rifled barrel.
Rifle
/ˈɹaɪfəl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A firearm fired from the shoulder; improved range and accuracy is provided by a long, rifled barrel.
- Grammar: rifle is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: air serviceman, amazon, automatic, bersagliere.
- Useful contrasts: unrifled, blowguns, bow.
- Usage evidence: A rifle shot broke the peace of the early morning.
How to use "rifle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "rifle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "rifle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "rifle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "rifle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "rifle" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "air serviceman" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "rifle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A firearm fired from the shoulder; improved range and accuracy is provided by a long, rifled barrel.
"Still, a dozen men with rifles, and cartridges to match, stayed behind when they filed through a white aldea lying silent amid the cane, and the Sin Verguenza swung into slightly quicker stride."
- 2 a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore wordnet
- 3 A rifleman. dated, plural-normally
- 4 An artillery piece with a rifled barrel.
- 5 A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.
Verb
- 1 To quickly search through many items (such as papers, the contents of a drawer, a pile of clothing). intransitive
"Near-synonym: riffle"
- 2 go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way wordnet
- 3 To commit robbery or theft. intransitive
"Thither repair at accustomed times their harlots […] not with empty hands, for they be as skilful in picking, rifling, and filching as the upright men."
- 4 steal goods; take as spoils wordnet
- 5 To search with intent to steal. transitive
"thine enemies […]shall ransack and rifle all the things of Edom; and shall search out all thy hidden commodities, and carry them away at once"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 To strip of goods; to rob; to pillage. transitive
"Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye: / If not, we'll make you sit and rifle you."
- 7 To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off. transitive
"Time shall rifle every youthful grace."
- 8 To add a spiral groove to a gun bore to make a fired bullet spin in flight in order to improve range and accuracy. transitive
- 9 To cause (a projectile, as a rifle bullet) to travel in a flat ballistic trajectory. transitive
"Davies's cross was headed away from danger by Robert Huth, only for Baird to take the ball in his stride and rifle his right-footed effort towards the corner from the edge of the box."
- 10 To move in a flat ballistic trajectory (as a rifle bullet). intransitive
"The ball rifled off the bat."
- 11 To dispose of in a raffle. obsolete, transitive
"I've at one throw / Rifled away the diadem of Spain; […]"
- 12 To engage in a raffle. intransitive, obsolete
"We'll strike up a drum, set up a tent, call people together, put crowns apiece, let's rifle for her"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"A rifle shot broke the peace of the early morning."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "rifle"?
Common synonyms include: air serviceman, amazon, automatic, bersagliere, blowgun, blowpipe.
How do you use "rifle" in a sentence?
A rifle shot broke the peace of the early morning.
How do you pronounce "rifle"?
Pronounced /ˈɹaɪfəl/.
Etymology
Originally short for “rifled gun”, referring to the spiral grooves inside the barrel. From Middle English riflen (“to rob, plunder, search through”), from Old French rifler (“to lightly scratch, scrape off, plunder”), from Old High German riffilōn (compare German riffeln (“to score, make grooves in, ripple”), archaic Dutch rijfelen (“to scrape”), Old English rifelan, riflian (“to wrinkle”)), frequentative of Proto-Germanic *rīfaną (compare Old Norse rífa (“to tear, break”)). More at rive.