as in searching
to look through (as a place) carefully or thoroughly in an effort to find or discover something rifled the desk drawer in search of the insurance policy
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rifling Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside. —
Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026 Another goal against Fulham on Sunday continued Cunha’s purple patch; collecting a no-look pass from Casemiro on the right of the penalty area before rifling a powerful effort into the roof of Bernd Leno’s net. —Carl Anka, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026 Heise worked her way into the left faceoff circle before rifling a shot just under the crossbar to give the Frost the win and keep Vancouver winless on the road. —CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025 Best All-Time NFL Wide Receivers Starting slow in the NFL matters more than ending the season with a win streak, unless that win streak is rifling off 8-10 wins. —James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 16 Apr. 2026 Another goal against Fulham on Sunday continued Cunha’s purple patch; collecting a no-look pass from Casemiro on the right of the penalty area before rifling a powerful effort into the roof of Bernd Leno’s net. —Carl Anka, New York Times, 5 Feb. 2026 Heise worked her way into the left faceoff circle before rifling a shot just under the crossbar to give the Frost the win and keep Vancouver winless on the road. —CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025 Best All-Time NFL Wide Receivers Starting slow in the NFL matters more than ending the season with a win streak, unless that win streak is rifling off 8-10 wins. —James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifling
Verb
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The Celtics won by 32 and Philly will be searching for answers.— Dan Santaromita, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026
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For a team that has spent much of the season searching for consistency and identity, this was something new.— Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Tasks that once required advanced expertise—like scanning code for vulnerabilities or running attacks that require chaining multiple exploits together—are increasingly being automated or semiautomated by AI systems.— Beatrice Nolan, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2026
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Another process that Wen thinks the chip could improve is scanning objects for 3D printing.— IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One way to tackle the show at the Met is to go from start to finish, diligently combing through all two hundred and thirty-seven pieces by Raphael and his wider circle.— Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2026
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After that check was delivered to the state Department of Social Services office in Hartford, the audit into Zervas’ optometry practice was dropped, which prevented state auditors from combing through her records and potentially clawing back even more money for the state.— Dave Altimari, Hartford Courant, 20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/rifling. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.
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