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Definition of rifle noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

rifle

noun
 
 
/ˈraɪfl/
 
/ˈraɪfl/
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  1. a gun with a long barrel which you hold to your shoulder to fire
    • a hunting rifle
    • an assault rifle
    see also air rifleTopics War and conflictc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • automatic
    • bolt-action
    • semi-automatic
    • …
    verb + rifle
    • grab
    • load
    • reload
    • …
    rifle + noun
    • barrel
    • butt
    • bullet
    • …
    See full entry
    Word Originnoun mid 17th cent.: from French rifler ‘graze, scratch’, of Germanic origin. The earliest noun usage was in rifle gun, which had “rifles” or spiral grooves cut into the inside of the barrel.
See rifle in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: rifle

Nearby words

dizzy
adjective
 
 
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