rifle

• POS: Noun, Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: ri=fle

CIDE DICTIONARY

rifle, v. t. [F. rifler to rifle, sweep away; of uncertain origin. CF. Raff.].

•  To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.  [1913 Webster]

  "Till time shall rifle every youthful grace."  [1913 Webster]
•  To strip; to rob; to pillage.  Piers Plowman.  [1913 Webster]

  "Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye:
  If not, we'll make you sit and rifle you."  [1913 Webster]
•  To raffle.  J. Webster.  [1913 Webster]

rifle, v. i. 

•  To raffle.  Chapman.  [1913 Webster]
•  To commit robbery.  Bp. Hall.  [1913 Webster]

rifle, n. [Akin to Dan. rifle, or riffel, the rifle of a gun, a chamfer (cf. riffel, riffelbösse, a rifle gun, rifle to rifle a gun, G. riefeln, riefen, to chamfer, groove), and E. rive. See Rive, and cf. Riffle, Rivel.].

•  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 As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.  [1913 Webster]
•  A body of soldiers armed with rifles.  [1913 Webster]
•  A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.  [1913 Webster]

Rifle pit (Mil.), a trench for sheltering sharpshooters.

rifle, v. t. 

•  To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.  [1913 Webster]
•  To whet with a rifle. See Rifle, n., 3.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

rifle, n. & v.
--n.
1 a gun with a long rifled barrel, esp. one fired from shoulder-level.
2 (in pl.) riflemen.
--v.tr. make spiral grooves in (a gun or its barrel or bore) to make a bullet spin.

Idiom

rifle bird any dark green Australian bird of paradise of the genus Ptiloris. rifle-range a place for rifle-practice. rifle-shot
1 the distance coverable by a shot from a rifle.
2 a shot fired with a rifle.

rifle, v.tr. & (foll. by through) intr.
1 search and rob, esp. of all that can be found.
2 carry off as booty.

Etymology

ME f. OF rifler graze, scratch, plunder f. ODu. riffelen

THESAURUS

rifle

Amazon, Zouave, air serviceman, automatic, bersagliere, blowgun, blowpipe, brave, burglarize, burgle, canal, canalize, cannon fodder, carabineer, carve, chamfer, channel, chasseur, chisel, comb, corrugate, crack, crimp, cut, dado, depredate, despoil, dike, ditch, dogface, doughfoot, engrave, expert rifleman, fighting man, firearm, flamethrower, fleece, flute, food for powder, foot soldier, footslogger, forage, foray, freeboot, furrow, fusileer, gash, gat, go through, goffer, gouge, grenadier, groove, grunt, gully, gun, gut, halberdier, handgun, heater, hoplite, incise, infantryman, knock off, knock over, legionary, light infantryman, look all over, look everywhere, loot, man-at-arms, maraud, marksman, military man, musket, musketeer, navy man, paddlefoot, peashooter, piece, pikeman, pillage, pistol, pleat, plow, plunder, prey on, rabbet, raid, rake, ransack, ravage, raven, ravish, reive, relieve, repeater, revolver, rifleman, rob, rod, rummage, rut, sack, sawed-off shotgun, score, scour, scratch, search, search high heaven, serviceman, shake, shake down, sharpshooter, shooting iron, shotgun, six-gun, six-shooter, slit, sniper, soldier, spearman, spoil, spoliate, stick up, streak, striate, sweep, toss, trench, trough, turn inside out, turn upside down, warrior, warrioress, wrinkle

ROGET THESAURUS

rifle

Arms

N arm, arms, weapon, deadly weapon, armament, armaments, armature, panoply, stand of arms, armor, armory, apparatus belli, ammunition, powder, powder and shot, cartridge, ball cartridge, cartouche, fireball, villainous saltpeter, dumdum bullet, explosive, gunpowder, guncotton, mercury fulminate, picrates, pentaerythritol tetranitrate, PETN, high explosive, trinitrotoluene, TNT, dynamite, melinite, cordite, lyddite, plastic explosive, plastique, pyroxyline, sword, saber, broadsword, cutlass, falchion, scimitar, cimeter, brand, whinyard, bilbo, glaive, glave, rapier, skean, Toledo, Ferrara, tuck, claymore, adaga, baselard, Lochaber ax, skean dhu, creese, kris, dagger, dirk, banger, poniard, stiletto, stylet, dudgeon, bayonet, sword-bayonet, sword-stick, side arms, foil, blade, steel, ax, bill, pole-ax, battle-ax, gisarme, halberd, partisan, tomahawk, bowie knife, ataghan, attaghan, yataghan, yatacban, assagai, assegai, good sword, trusty sword, naked sword, cold steel, club, mace, truncheon, staff, bludgeon, cudgel, life preserver, shillelah, sprig, hand staff, quarter staff, bat, cane, stick, knuckle duster, billy, blackjack, sandbag, waddy, gun, piece, firearms, artillery, ordnance, siege train, battering train, park, battery, cannon, gun of position, heavy gun, field piece, mortar, howitzer, carronade, culverin, basilisk, falconet, jingal, swivel, pederero, bouche a feu, petard, torpedo, mitrailleur, mitrailleuse, infernal machine, smooth bore, rifled cannon, Armstrong gun, Lancaster gun, Paixhan gun, Whitworth gun, Parrott gun, Krupp gun, Gatling gun, Maxim gun, machine gun, pompom, ten pounder, small arms, musket, musketry, firelock, fowling piece, rifle, fusil, caliver, carbine, blunderbuss, musketoon, Brown Bess, matchlock, harquebuss, arquebus, haguebut, pistol, postolet, petronel, small bore, breach-loader, muzzle-loader, revolver, repeater, Minis rifle, Enfield rifle, Flobert rifle, Westley Richards rifle, Snider rifle, Martini-Henry rifle, Lee-Metford rifle, Lee-Enfield rifle, Mauser rifle, magazine rifle, needle gun, chassepot, wind gun, air gun, automatic gun, automatic pistol, escopet, escopette, gunflint, gun- lock, hackbut, shooter, shooting iron, six-shooter, shotgun, Uzzi, assault rifle, Kalashnikov, bow, crossbow, balister, catapult, sling, battering ram, gunnery, ballistics, missile, bolt, projectile, shot, ball, grape, grape shot, canister shot, bar shot, cannon shot, langrel shot, langrage shot, round shot, chain shot, balista, ballista, slung shot, trebucbet, trebucket, bullet, slug, stone, brickbat, grenade, shell, bomb, carcass, rocket, congreve, congreve rocket, shrapnel, mitraille, levin bolt, levin brand, thunderbolt, pike, lance, spear, spontoon, javelin, dart, jereed, jerid, arrow, reed, shaft, bolt, boomerang, harpoon, gaff, eelspear, oxgoad, weet-weet, wommerah, cattle prod, chemical mace, en flute, nervos belli pecuniam infinitam.

Stealing

VB steal, thieve, rob, mug, purloin, pilfer, filch, prig, bag, nim, crib, cabbage, palm, abstract, appropriate, plagiarize, convey away, carry off, abduct, kidnap, crimp, make off with, walk off with, run off with, run away with, spirit away, seize, plunder, pillage, rifle, sack, loot, ransack, spoil, spoliate, despoil, strip, sweep, gut, forage, levy blackmail, pirate, pickeer, maraud, lift cattle, poach, smuggle, run, badger, bail up, hold up, stick up, bunco, bunko, filibuster, swindle, peculate, embezzle, sponge, mulct, rook, bilk, pluck, pigeon, fleece, defraud, obtain under false pretenses, live by one's wits, rob Peter to pay Paul, borrow of Peter to pay Paul, set a thief to catch a thief, disregard the distinction between meum and tuum, fence, launder, launder money.