ri·fle¹ (rī'fəl)
n.

1. 1. A firearm with a rifled bore, designed to be fired from the shoulder.
   2. An artillery piece or naval gun with such spiral grooves.
2. rifles Troops armed with rifles.

tr.v., -fled, -fling, -fles.
To cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, for example).

[From rifle, to cut spiral grooves in, from French rifler, from Old French, to plunder, scratch. See rifle².]

ri·fle² (rī'fəl)

v., -fled, -fling, -fles.

v.tr.

1. To search with intent to steal.
2. To ransack or plunder; pillage.
3. To rob: rifle a safe.

v.intr.
To search vigorously: rifling through my drawers to find matching socks.

[Middle English riflen, to plunder, from Old French rifler, probably of Germanic origin.]

rifler ri'fler n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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