ri·fle

noun

/ˈraɪfl/

a gun with a long barrel which you hold to your shoulder to fire步枪；来复枪
- a hunting rifle猎枪
- an assault rifle突击步枪
see also air rifleTopics War and conflictc1
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- automatic
- bolt-action
- semi-automatic
- …
verb + rifle
- grab
- load
- reload
- …
rifle + noun
- barrel
- butt
- bullet
- …
Word Originnoun mid 17th cent.: from French rifler ‘graze, scratch’, of Germanic origin. The earliest noun usage was in rifle gun, which had “rifles” or spiral grooves cut into the inside of the barrel.

ri·fle

verb

/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快速搜寻；匆忙翻找
- She rifled through her clothes for something suitable to wear.她急匆匆地在衣服堆里找合适的衣服穿。
Topics Crime and punishmentc2
[transitive] rifle something to steal something from somewhere偷窃；盗取
- His wallet had been rifled.他的钱包被偷了。
[transitive] rifle something + adv./prep. to kick a ball very hard and straight in a game of football (soccer)猛踢（足球）
- She rifled the ball into the roof of the net.她将球射入网顶。

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.