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.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- [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.
Check pronunciation:
rifle