Library / English Dictionary

RIFLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore

Example:

he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

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

firearm; piece; small-arm (a portable gun)

Meronyms (parts of "rifle"):

bolt (a sliding bar in a breech-loading firearm that ejects an empty cartridge and replaces it and closes the breech)

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)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rifle"):

carbine (light automatic rifle)

Garand; Garand rifle; M-1; M-1 rifle (a semiautomatic 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)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way

Example:

Who rifled through my desk drawers?

Synonyms:

go; rifle

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

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

search (subject to a search)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s PP

Sentence examples:

The men rifle the area for animals

The men rifle for animals in the area

Sense 2

Meaning:

Steal goods; take as spoils

Example:

During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners

Synonyms:

despoil; foray; loot; pillage; plunder; ransack; reave; rifle; strip

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

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

take (take by force)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "rifle"):

deplume; displume (strip of honors, possessions, or attributes)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Credits

 Context examples: 

He put on his hat and went out, stopping in at a gun-store, where he spent the remainder of the morning buying automatic rifles, ammunition, and fishing tackle.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

There could be no doubt that Beddington had obtained entrance by pretending that he had left something behind him, and having murdered the watchman, rapidly rifled the large safe, and then made off with his booty.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Supposing that I escaped capture in the streets, how was I to make my way into his presence? and how should I, an unknown and displeasing visitor, prevail on the famous physician to rifle the study of his colleague, Dr. Jekyll?

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The children went to him like bees to a honeypot, and establishing themselves on each knee, proceeded to captivate him by rifling his pockets, pulling his beard, and investigating his watch, with juvenile audacity.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

It went from me with a shock, like a ball fired from a rifle: but the image of Agnes, outraged by so much as a thought of this red-headed animal's, remained in my mind when I looked at him, sitting all awry as if his mean soul griped his body, and made me giddy.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I was sorry to fire my rifle, but, by Jove! there was no great choice.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In the meantime, Bill had bethought himself of the rifle.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Also he saw Wolf Larsen’s rifle bearing upon him and knew he would be shot ere he could get his rifle into play.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

He fought it off for hours, then threw his rifle open and was confronted with emptiness.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

At the same moment, the fire was once more opened from the woods, and a rifle ball sang through the doorway and knocked the doctor's musket into bits.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)