Library / English Dictionary

RIFFLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shuffling by splitting the pack and interweaving the two halves at their corners

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("riffle" is a kind of...):

make; shuffle; shuffling (the act of mixing cards haphazardly)

Derivation:

riffle (shuffle (playing cards) by separating the deck into two parts and riffling with the thumbs so the cards intermix)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A small wave on the surface of a liquid

Synonyms:

riffle; ripple; rippling; wavelet

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Hypernyms ("riffle" is a kind of...):

moving ridge; wave (one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water))

Derivation:

riffle (stir up (water) so as to form ripples)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Shuffle (playing cards) by separating the deck into two parts and riffling with the thumbs so the cards intermix

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "riffle" is one way to...):

mix; ruffle; shuffle (mix so as to make a random order or arrangement)

Domain category:

card game; cards (a game played with playing cards)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

riffle (shuffling by splitting the pack and interweaving the two halves at their corners)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Twitch or flutter

Example:

the paper flicked

Synonyms:

flick; riffle; ruffle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "riffle" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stir up (water) so as to form ripples

Synonyms:

cockle; riffle; ripple; ruffle; undulate

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "riffle" is one way to...):

flow; flux (move or progress freely as if in a stream)

"Riffle" entails doing...:

fold; fold up; turn up (bend or lay so that one part covers the other)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

riffle (a small wave on the surface of a liquid)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Look through a book or other written material

Example:

She leafed through the volume

Synonyms:

flick; flip; leaf; riff; riffle; thumb

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "riffle" is one way to...):

peruse (examine or consider with attention and in detail)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The customs agents riffle the bags for drugs

Credits