Lexic.us

Definition of Rifle

1. Noun. A shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore. "He lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired"

2. Verb. Steal goods; take as spoils. "During the earthquake people looted the stores that were deserted by their owners"

3. Verb. Go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way. "The men rifle for animals in the area"; "Who rifled through my desk drawers?"

Definition of Rifle

1. v. t. To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.

2. v. i. To raffle.

3. n. A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.

4. v. t. To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.

Definition of Rifle

1. Noun. A long firearm firing a single projectile, usually with a rifled barrel to improve accuracy. ¹

2. Verb. to search with intent to steal; to ransack, pillage or plunder. ¹

3. Verb. To scan many items (especially papers) in a set, quickly. ''(See also riffle^{[ ¹}

4. Verb. To add a spiral to the interior of a gun bore to make a fired bullet spin in flight to improve range and accuracy. ¹

5. Verb. To strike something with great power. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Rifle

1. to search through and rob [v RIFLED, RIFLING, RIFLES]

Medical Definition of Rifle

1. 1. A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm it has superseded the musket. 2. A body of soldiers armed with rifles. 3. A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes. Rifle pit, a trench for sheltering sharpshooters. Origin: Akin to Dan. Rifle, or riffel, the rifle of a gun, a chamfer (cf. Riffel, riffelbosse, a rifle gun, rifle to rifle a gun, G. Riefeln, riefen, to chamfer, groove), and E. Rive. See Rive, and cf. Riffle, Rivel. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Rifle

riffier riffiest riffing riffle riffled rifflers riffles riffling riffly riffraff

riffraffs riffs riffwise riffy rifle (current term) rifle ball rifle green rifle grenade rifle range rifle ranges

rifle shot riflebird riflebirds rifled rifled slug rifled slugs riflelike rifleman

Literary usage of Rifle

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Dictionary of National Biography by Sidney Lee (1909)
"The inventor found some consolation for the procrastinations of official procedure in the fact that at the open competition promoted by the National rifle ..."

2. Bulletin of the New York Public Library by New York Public Library (1903)
"Giving forms for organization of rifle associations, by-laws, ... The royal rifle match on Wimbledon Common; with specialities of rifles and rifle ..."

3. South Eastern Reporter by West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, West Publishing Company, South Carolina Supreme Court (1920)
"Dink Butler appeared there with his rifle, and Fate Fews came up ... Witness tried to get Dink's rifle from him, and to take him away, but he refused to go. ..."

4. The Quarterly Review by William Gifford, George Walter Prothero, John Gibson Lockhart, John Murray, Whitwell Elwin, John Taylor Coleridge, Rowland Edmund Prothero Ernle, William Macpherson, William Smith (1905)
"The Book of the rifle. By the Hon. TF Fremantle Major 1st Bucks VRC London : Longmans ... The National rifle Association. Annual Reports, 1860 to 1904. ..."

5. Sportby C. M. van Stockum by C. M. van Stockum (1914)
"The sporting rifle. The shooting or big and little game. Together with a description or the ... Hints on the use or the rifle for beginners. r.ilit. and ..."

6. An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language by Walter William Skeat (1893)
"rifle (2), a musket with a barrel spirally grooved to give the bullet a rotary motion. ... The sb. rifle is a short form for rifled gun, and is due to the ..."

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