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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Recent Examples of rifling
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
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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Cops are searching for multiple suspects wearing ski masks last seen fleeing the scene on foot.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
31 Mar. 2026
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With the Heat searching for answers amid its rough stretch, rookie guard Kasparas Jakucionis was not part of the roation on Monday.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Victor looked up, scanning the windows, and saw a large black beast standing on the curb outside.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Apr. 2026
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But under the new policy rolling out this summer, customers will also be able to tip when paying with a credit card for mobile orders and when scanning and paying at the register.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Meanwhile in Tehran, rescue workers were combing through rubble Friday morning trying to find survivors after overnight strikes there.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
27 Mar. 2026
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And if the idea of combing through your spending history gives you the ick, plug your info into a financial app like Quicken Simplifi.—
Harlan Vaughn,
CNBC,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifling. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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