rifle
Use Rifle in a sentence
fəl noun
1.
a shoulder firearm with spiral grooves cut in the inner surface of the gun barrel to give the bullet a rotatory motion and thus a more precise trajectory.
2.
one of the grooves.
3.
a cannon with such grooves.
4.
( often initial capital letter ) rifles, any of certain military units or bodies equipped with rifles.
verb (used with object)
5.
to cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, pipe, etc.).
6.
to propel (a ball) at high speed, as by throwing or hitting with a bat.
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Rifle
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Origin:
1745–55; < Low German rīfeln to groove, derivative of rīve, riefe groove, flute, furrow; akin to Old English rifelede wrinkled
1745–55; < Low German rīfeln to groove, derivative of rīve, riefe groove, flute, furrow; akin to Old English rifelede wrinkled
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object), ri·fled, ri·fling.
1.
to ransack and rob (a place, receptacle, etc.).
2.
to search and rob (a person).
3.
to plunder or strip bare.
4.
to steal or take away.
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English rifel < Old French rifler to scratch, strip, plunder
1325–75; Middle English rifel < Old French rifler to scratch, strip, plunder
Related forms
ri·fler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To rifle
Collins
World English Dictionary
rifle1 (ˈraɪfəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. a firearm having a long barrel with a spirally grooved interior, which imparts to the bullet spinning motion and thus greater accuracy over a longer range |
| b. (as modifier): rifle fire | |
| 2. | (formerly) a large cannon with a rifled bore |
| 3. | one of the grooves in a rifled bore |
| 4. | (plural) |
| a. a unit of soldiers equipped with rifles | |
| b. (capital when part of a name): the Rifle Brigade | |
| —vb | |
| 5. | to cut or mould spiral grooves inside the barrel of (a gun) |
| 6. | to throw or hit (a ball) with great speed |
| [C18: from Old French rifler to scratch; related to Low German rifeln from riefe groove, furrow] | |
| rifle2 (ˈraɪfəl) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to search (a house, safe, etc) and steal from it; ransack |
| 2. | to steal and carry off: to rifle goods from a shop |
| [C14: from Old French rifler to plunder, scratch, of Germanic origin] | |
| 'rifler2 | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
rifle
1775, "portable firearm having a spirally grooved bore," used earlier of the grooves themselves (1751), noun use of rifled (pistol), 1689, from verb meaning "to cut spiral grooves in" (a gun barrel), 1635, probably from Fr. rifler, from O.Fr. rifler "to scratch or groove" (see rifle (v.)).
rifle
"to plunder," 1326 (implied in rifling), from O.Fr. rifler "strip, plunder," lit. "to graze, scratch," probably from a Gmc. source (cf. O.E. geriflian "to wrinkle," O.H.G. riffilon "to tear by rubbing," O.N. rifa "to tear, break").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The rifle's report echoes chaotically through the dry canyon.
His father let him use a rifle when he was nine, and before his tenth birthday he had bagged his first pheasant.
The second stage was reached when the flint-lock rifle came on the scene and took the place of knife and dagger.
Nearly every house is a castle built on steeples of rock, and every farmer toiling in his field has a rifle strapped to his back.
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