rifle
gb/ɹˈaɪfəl/ us/ɹˈaɪfəl/
B1
English
~ 3700
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B1
entity
1
Long gun for shoulder firing
A long gun that you hold at your shoulder to shoot accurately.
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse 'rifle' with 'gun' or 'pistol'. Remember that a rifle is long and fired from the shoulder.
Synonyms
long gun (A more general term that includes rifles and shotguns.)
|
carbine (A shorter, lighter type of rifle.)
Antonyms
pistol (A short-barreled firearm designed to be held in one hand.)
Collocations
assault rifle
|hunting rifle
|sniper rifle
|rifle range
|rifle shot
Themes
weapons
|military
|hunting
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The soldier cleaned his rifle after the training exercise.
- She inherited her grandfather’s hunting rifle.
- The police found a loaded rifle in the suspect’s car.
- He adjusted the scope on his rifle before aiming.
- Rifles are commonly used for long-distance shooting.
Learner examples
- The man has a rifle.
- He uses a rifle to hunt deer.
- The police carry rifles.
- I saw a rifle in the shop.
- She cleaned her rifle.
Verb
informal
B2
action
2
Search through roughly
To look through something quickly and carelessly, making a mess.
Usage pattern:
to rifle through [something]
Common mistake:
Learners may confuse this with 'shoot with a rifle'. As a verb, 'rifle' can mean to search messily, especially in informal speech.
Synonyms
ransack (Implies more forceful or destructive searching.)
|
root through (Informal; suggests searching without care for order.)
Antonyms
organize (To arrange things neatly instead of making them messy.)
Collocations
rifle through papers
|rifle through drawers
|rifle through pockets
Themes
crime
|daily life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The burglar rifled through the desk drawers looking for cash.
- She rifled through her bag to find her keys.
- Someone had rifled through the files while we were out.
- He rifled through the closet until he found his coat.
- They rifled through the boxes in the attic.
Learner examples
- He rifled through my bag.
- She rifled through the box.
- The thief rifled through the desk.
- I rifled through my drawer for a pen.
- They rifled through my papers.
Grammar
Dictionary form
rifle
IPA
GB/ɹˈaɪfəl/
US/ɹˈaɪfəl/
Syllables & stress
rifle (1 syllable)
Stress on 1st syllable (rifle)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: rifle
- Plural: rifles
Verb
- Base: rifle
- 3rd Person Singular: rifles
- Present Participle: rifling
- Past: rifled
Word family
Forms
rifles
noun
rifling
verb
rifled
verb
Related words
rifleman
noun
Expressions
rifle through
1/ɹˈaɪfəl θɹˈu/
phrasal verb
informal
Search messily through something
To look quickly and carelessly through something, making it messy.
Examples
- She rifled through her purse to find her phone.
- The kids rifled through the toy box looking for their favorite game.