rifle

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ri·fle1 / ˈrīfəl/ • n. a gun, esp. one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance. ∎  (rifles) troops armed with rifles.• v. 1. [tr.] [usu. as adj.] (rifled) make spiral grooves in (a gun or its barrel or bore) to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance: a line of replacement rifled barrels.2. [tr.] hit, throw, or kick (a ball or puck) hard and straight: he rifled a hard, rising shot from just inside the blue line.

rifle

ri·fle2 • v. [intr.] search through something in a hurried way in order to find or steal something: she rifled through the cassette tapes | [tr.] they rifled the house for money. ∎  [tr.] steal: the lieutenant's servant rifled the dead man's possessions.

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