RIFLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does rifle mean? 

• RIFLE (noun)
  The noun RIFLE has 1 sense:

1. a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore

  Familiarity information: RIFLE used as a noun is very rare.

• RIFLE (verb)
  The verb RIFLE has 2 senses:

1. steal goods; take as spoils

2. go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way

  Familiarity information: RIFLE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RIFLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired

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)

• RIFLE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they rifle    ... he / she / it rifles   
Past simple: rifled   
Past participle: rifled   
-ing form: rifling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Steal goods; take as spoils

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

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

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

Sense 2

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

go; rifle

Context example:

Who rifled through my desk drawers?

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

 Context examples 

With his rifle, in the broad daylight, it might be possible for him to awe the wolves and save the dog.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"I believe it is going to spring!" said I, cocking my rifle.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The hunters came trooping on deck with shot-guns and ammunition-boxes, and, most unusual, their rifles.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Then, when he had left, you rifled the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man arrested.

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

I am convinced that these marks were left by the man who rifled the papers.

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

He knew there were no seas or ships in the heart of the barren lands, just as he had known there was no cartridge in the empty rifle.

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

With a handful of salt and a rifle he could plunge into the wilderness and fare wherever he pleased and as long as he pleased.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

They lashed the horses which sprang forward; but the four men raised their Winchester rifles, and in an unmistakable way commanded them to stop.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

In that instance, he had been holding a rifle in his hands to show the invention could be utilized for military purposes.

(French inventor Franky Zapata successfully crosses English Channel on jet-powered hoverboard, Wikinews)

The CACHE had been found and rifled; the seven hundred thousand pounds were gone!

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)