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Entry 10 senses · 4 variants Webster, 1913

Rifle

/rīf'-əl/ · Ri·fle · IPA /ˈɹaɪfəl/
01 v. t. To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.
imp. & p. p. Rifled; p. pr. & vb. n. Rifling
  1. 1.
    To seize and bear away by force; to snatch away; to carry off.
    “Till time shall rifle every youthful grace.” — Pope.
  2. 2.
    To strip; to rob; to pillage.
    “Stand, sir, and throw us that you have about ye: If not, we'll make you sit and rifle you.” — Shak.
  3. 3.
    To raffle.[Obs.]
02 v. i. To raffle.
  1. 1.
    To raffle.[Obs.]
  2. 2.
    To commit robbery.[R.]
03 n. A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fi…
  1. 1.
    A gun, the inside of whose barrel is grooved with spiral channels, thus giving the ball a rotary motion and insuring greater accuracy of fire. As a military firearm it has superseded the musket.
  2. 2.
    A body of soldiers armed with rifles.(Mil.)
  3. 3.
    A strip of wood covered with emery or a similar material, used for sharpening scythes.
Phrases & compounds
Rifle pit — a trench for sheltering sharpshooters.
04 v. t. To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.
  1. 1.
    To grove; to channel; especially, to groove internally with spiral channels; as, to rifle a gun barrel or a cannon.
  2. 2.
    To whet with a rifle. See Rifle, n., 3. See: Rifle