rifle
/ˈraɪfl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈraɪfl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈrī-fəl/ (ame, mw) · /ˈraɪ.fəl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈraɪ.fəl/ (ame, ipa)
rifle — noun
- riflesingular
- riflesplural
1. A long-barrelled firearm that you hold against your shoulder and use to shoot at
A long-barrelled firearm that you hold against your shoulder and use to shoot at targets that are far away with high precision.
Rania aimed the rifle at the target and held her breath before pulling the trigger.
noun: a shoulder-held firearm with a long barrel
After cleaning his rifle, the hunter stored it in a locked cabinet.
common verb collocation: clean / store a rifle
The hunting rifle that Priya inherited from her grandfather can still hit targets at two hundred metres.
A security guard carried a rifle over one shoulder while patrolling the building.
The soldiers trained with their rifles every morning before the sun came up.
常見錯誤
rifle — verb
- riflepresent simple I / you / we / they
- rifles3rd person singular
- rifling-ing form
- rifledpast simple
1. To go through the contents of a place or container in a fast and careless way, e
To go through the contents of a place or container in a fast and careless way, especially when looking for something to take without permission.
The thief rifled through the desk drawers looking for cash and jewellery.
phrasal pattern: rifle through [place] looking for [object]
Indra rifled through her backpack, trying to find her keys before the bus left.
Someone had rifled through the mail on the front table while the family was away.
Customs officers at the border rifled through the suitcases, searching for smuggled goods.
Vikram rifled through the pile of old papers, hoping to find his grandfather's missing will.
- rummage through
less aggressive, often neutral; you rummage for your keys, not to steal
- ransack
more violent and destructive; implies turning everything upside down
- scour
thorough and systematic, not necessarily with bad intent
- organise
to arrange neatly, the opposite of careless searching
文法句型
rifle + through + noun phrase (place being searched)
用法筆記
Frequently paired with the preposition 'through'. The object of the verb is the place or container being searched, not the items being looked for. Compare with the second verb sense (STEAL GOODS), where 'rifle' is used alone without 'through' and means to take things by force.
常見錯誤
2. To forcibly take valuable items from a place, especially during a conflict or wa
To forcibly take valuable items from a place, especially during a conflict or war, and carry them away as one's own.
During the raid, the soldiers rifled the temple of its gold statues and sacred relics.
pattern: rifle + [place] + of + [valuables taken]
Looters rifled the abandoned electronics store, carrying away computers and smartphones by the armful.
The pirates rifled the Spanish ship of its cargo of silver and spices.
After the earthquake, gangs rifled ruined homes, stealing jewellery and cash from the rubble.
文法句型
rifle + noun phrase (place) + of + noun phrase (items taken)
用法筆記
The object of the verb is the place or container, and the stolen items are introduced with 'of'. This sense has a formal or literary register and is often used in historical or war contexts. It does NOT take the preposition 'through' — that would change the meaning to "search quickly" (sense 1).