riffle
to turn hastily; flutter and shift: to riffle a stack of letters; to riffle through a book.
Cards. to shuffle by dividing the deck in two, raising the corners slightly, and allowing them to fall alternately together.
to cause or become a riffle.
a rapid, as in a stream.
a ripple, as upon the surface of water.
Mining. the lining of transverse bars or slats on the bed of a sluice, arranged so as to catch heavy minerals, as gold or platinum.
a hopper for distributing bulk material.
the act or method of riffling cards.
Origin of riffle
1Other words from riffle
- un·rif·fled, adjective
Words that may be confused with riffle
- riffle , rifle
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use riffle in a sentence
Across these planes at intervals are nailed small strips of wood called riffles.
Gold-Seeking on the Dalton Trail | Arthur R. ThompsonHe waded ashore, resolved to fish the riffles again to-morrow.
The Highgrader | William MacLeod RaineAs noted above, these streams are normally clear, swift and have steep gradients and many rubble and gravel riffles.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas | Artie L. MetcalfIn downstream collections its relative abundance was less, although it was often concentrated on riffles.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas | Artie L. MetcalfPools and riffles along ¼ mile of stream were seined in the early collections.
Fishes of Chautauqua, Cowley and Elk Counties, Kansas | Artie L. Metcalf
British Dictionary definitions for riffle
/ (ˈrɪfəl) /
(when intr , often foll by through) to flick rapidly through (the pages of a book, magazine, etc), esp in a desultory manner
to shuffle (playing cards) by halving the pack and flicking the adjacent corners together
to make or become a riffle
US and Canadian
a rapid in a stream
a rocky shoal causing a rapid
a ripple on water
mining a contrivance on the bottom of a sluice, containing transverse grooves for trapping particles of gold
the act or an instance of riffling
Origin of riffle
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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