rifle
verb/ˈraɪfl/
/ˈraɪfl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they rifle | /ˈraɪfl/ /ˈraɪfl/ |
| he / she / it rifles | /ˈraɪflz/ /ˈraɪflz/ |
| past simple rifled | /ˈraɪfld/ /ˈraɪfld/ |
| past participle rifled | /ˈraɪfld/ /ˈraɪfld/ |
| -ing form rifling | /ˈraɪflɪŋ/ /ˈraɪflɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] rifle (through) something to search quickly through something in order to find or steal something
- She rifled through her clothes for something suitable to wear.
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- [transitive] rifle something to steal something from somewhere
- His wallet had been rifled.
- [transitive] rifle something + adv./prep. to kick a ball very hard and straight in a game of football (soccer)
- She rifled the ball into the roof of the net.
Word Originverb senses 1 to 2 Middle English: from Old French rifler ‘graze, plunder’, of Germanic origin. verb sense 3 1940s: from rifle ‘gun’, suggestive of explosive speed; compare with the verb shoot.
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rifle