rifle1
n.
- a gun, especially one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel to make a bullet spin and thereby increase accuracy over a long distance.
-
(rifles)
troops armed with rifles.
v.
-
[usu. as adj. rifled]
make spiral grooves in (a gun or its barrel or bore).
- hit or kick (a ball) hard and straight.
Etymology
C17: from Fr. rifler ‘graze, scratch’, of Gmc origin.
rifle2
v.
search through something hurriedly in order to find or steal something.
▸steal (something).
Etymology
ME: from OFr. rifler ‘graze, plunder’, of Gmc origin.