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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rifling
Canale made 15 clearances, the most of anyone on the pitch, and scored the winning penalty, rifling the ball high into the net past Manuel Neuer.
—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
30 June 2026
The woman’s daughter showed investigators video footage showing Robinson rifling through the woman’s drawers, selecting items and hiding them on her body.
—
Kairi Lowery,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—
Julie Rousseau,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—
Michael Schaub,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside.
—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Restaurant workers saw Wyatt rifling through the vehicle, taking things out and looking for something to steal, Batista said.
—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
2 Jan. 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
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
30 June 2026
The woman’s daughter showed investigators video footage showing Robinson rifling through the woman’s drawers, selecting items and hiding them on her body.
—
Kairi Lowery,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—
Julie Rousseau,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—
Michael Schaub,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside.
—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Restaurant workers saw Wyatt rifling through the vehicle, taking things out and looking for something to steal, Batista said.
—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
2 Jan. 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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French and Monaco authorities are searching for the attacker, whose motive is under investigation, Monaco's most senior government official, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand, told reporters.
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For five days Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez has been frantically searching for her son across hospitals in La Guaira and Caracas.
Verb
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At the time, AFTVnews reported that two of the apps served as residential proxy providers and were considered riskware, and that the other two had APK files that were flagged by virus-scanning tools.
-
AmbiStack takes over downstream by scanning and stacking cases for receiving.
Verb
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Rescuers have been combing through the rubble of the hotel in a desperate attempt to save any survivors.
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Watchers of the original have been combing through the unrated version, which lists the same runtime as the original, looking for differences.
Cite this Entry
“Rifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifling. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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