I. ˈrīfəl verb
( rifled ; rifled ; rifling -f(ə)liŋ ; rifles )
Etymology: Middle English riflen, from Middle French rifler to scratch, file, plunder, from Old French, of Germanic origin; akin to obsolete Dutch rijffelen to scrape, groove, Middle Dutch riven to rake — more at rivel
transitive verb
1. : to ransack and rob or plunder : pillage thoroughly : despoil completely
his mail was repeatedly rifled — William MacDonald
not only dug deep into local archives but rifled the memories of farmers — Newsweek
2. : to steal and carry away : snatch away : carry off
till time shall rifle every youthful grace — Alexander Pope
intransitive verb
: to engage in ransacking and pillaging
rifling through her desk in a desperate search for writing materials — Brand Blanshard
Synonyms: see rob
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old North French, perhaps from Old French rifler to scratch, file
1. : a strip of wood covered with emery or similar material and used for sharpening scythes
2. Britain : a bent stick fastened at the butt of a scythe and serving to lay the mowed grain in rows
III. transitive verb
( rifled ; rifled ; rifling -f(ə)liŋ ; rifles )
: to whet with a rifle
rifling scythes and filing hoes — William Humphrey
IV. transitive verb
( rifled ; rifled ; rifling -f(ə)liŋ ; rifles )
Etymology: French rifler to scratch, file, from Middle French
: to cut spiral grooves into the bore of (as a firearm or piece of ordnance)
rifled arms
rifled pipe
V. noun
( -s )
1. archaic : one of the spiral grooves in the bore of a rifled firearm
2.
a. : a firearm having a rifled bore and intended to be fired from the shoulder — see carbine ; compare musket , pistol , shotgun
b. : a rifled artillery piece
startling crack of a single great fourteen-inch rifle , carefully aimed — K.M.Dodson
3.
a. : rifleman
appointed captain of a Maryland company of rifles — American Guide Series: Maryland
b. rifles plural : a body of soldiers armed with rifles
the 6th Gurkha Rifles
4. or rifle green : a dark grayish olive green to black
5. : a mobile lighting unit with a spirally ribbed parabolic reflector throwing a narrow beam that is used especially in television and motion-picture making
VI. transitive verb
( rifled ; rifled ; rifling -f(ə)liŋ ; rifles )
Etymology: rifle (V)
: to hit or throw (a ball) with great force
rifled a single to center field