Rifle
['raɪf(ə)l] or ['raɪfl]
Definition
(noun.) a shoulder firearm with a long barrel and a rifled bore; 'he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired'.
(verb.) go through in search of something; search through someone's belongings in an unauthorized way; 'Who rifled through my desk drawers?'.
Checker: Nona--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.
(v. t.) To strip; to rob; to pillage.
(v. t.) To raffle.
(v. i.) To raffle.
(v. i.) To commit robbery.
(n.) 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 As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.
(n.) A body of soldiers armed with rifles.
(n.) A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.
(v. t.) To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.
(v. t.) To whet with a rifle. See Rifle, n., 3.
Edited by Horace
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. [1]. Seize, snatch away, carry off.[2]. Rob, pillage, plunder, strip, despoil, fleece.
Checked by Elaine
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See_JEER]
Checked by Emil
Definition
v.t. to groove spirally as a gun-barrel.—n. a musket with a barrel spirally grooved—many varieties the Enfield Mini Martini-Henry Chassepot Mannlicher-repeating Remington Lee-Metford &c.—ns. Rī′fle-bird an Australian bird-of-Paradise; Rī′fle-corps a body of soldiers armed with rifles; Rī′fleman a man armed with a rifle; Rī′fle-pit a pit dug to shelter riflemen; Rī′fle-range a place for practice with the rifle; Rī′fling the act of cutting spiral grooves in the bore of a gun; Rī′fling-machine′.
v.t. to carry off by force: to strip to rob: to whet as a scythe.—n. Rī′fler.
Checked by Elmer
Examples
- They heard a rifle bolt snick as it was drawn back and then the knock against the wood as it was pushed forward and down on the stock. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- The Redan was within rifle-shot of the Malakoff; Inkerman was a mile away; and Balaklava removed but an hour's ride. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- It was expected in case of necessity to connect these forts by rifle-pits. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- The repeating rifle now seemed an interesting possibility and large sums were spent in developing a weapon of this type. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The rifle grooves, however, were first made spiral or screwed by Koster, of Birmingham, about 1620, while straight grooves are said to have been in use as far back as 1498. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- A breech-loading rifle was also invented about this time. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- He lay back and sighted with the automatic rifle as the planes came on steadily. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- There were two of them, with rifles slung on their backs and flashlights in their hands and they were shouting too. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- At sight of us the members of the guard sprang forward in surprise, and with levelled rifles halted us. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- They throw away their rifles, Piani said. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Raising their rifles they fired into the underbrush in the direction from which the missiles had come. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- I saw flashes of the rifles and heard the reports. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- Pilar was climbing the bank into the timber carrying three rifles. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- As I gained my feet the therns lowered their wicked rifles, their faces distorted in mingled chagrin, consternation, and alarm. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Rifled cannon were first employed in actual service in Louis Napoleon’s Italian campaign of 1859, and were first introduced in the United States service by General James in 1861. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- Smooth-bore cannon and mortars of cast-iron and bronze are still retained in some fortresses, though rifled cannon are the only type now made. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- In Berlin there is a rifled cannon of 1664 with thirteen grooves. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- I am convinced that these marks were left by the man who rifled the papers. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- We have seen the mineral and vegetable kingdoms rifled and ransacked for substances that would yield the best filament. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Three-barrel guns were also made from one piece of steel, two bores for shot and the third rifled for a bullet. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Then, when he had left, you rifled the jewel-case, raised the alarm, and had this unfortunate man arrested. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The feature of importance in the cannon which contributed most to its efficiency was the rifling of the bore with spiral grooves. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
- The gunsmith was so impressed by the boy and his accomplishment that, after rifling the barrel, he fitted it with a lock. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- They removed their prisoner to the ground and then commenced a systematic rifling of the vessel. Edgar Rice Burroughs. A Princess of Mars.
- He had no tools to cut the rifling. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- The liner is a single piece which extends the length of the bore and is intended to contain the rifling and the powder chamber. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Was it not he of St Ives whom they tied to an oak-tree, and compelled to sing a mass while they were rifling his mails and his wallets? Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- The rifling of the barrels of firearms is, however, of very ancient origin. Edward W. Byrn. The Progress of Invention in the Nineteenth Century.
Typed by Erica