riffle

[rif-uhl]

verb (used with or without object)

riffled, riffling 

1. to turn hastily; flutter and shift.

   to riffle a stack of letters; to riffle through a book.

2. Cards.,  to shuffle by dividing the deck in two, raising the corners slightly, and allowing them to fall alternately together.

3. to cause or become a riffle.

noun

1. a rapid, as in a stream.

2. a ripple, as upon the surface of water.

3. 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.

4. a hopper for distributing bulk material.

5. the act or method of riffling cards.

riffle

/ ˈrɪfəl /

verb

1. to flick rapidly through (the pages of a book, magazine, etc), esp in a desultory manner

2. to shuffle (playing cards) by halving the pack and flicking the adjacent corners together

3. to make or become a riffle

noun

1. 1. a rapid in a stream

   2. a rocky shoal causing a rapid

   3. a ripple on water

2. mining a contrivance on the bottom of a sluice, containing transverse grooves for trapping particles of gold

3. the act or an instance of riffling

Other Word Forms

• unriffled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of riffle¹

1630–40; blend of ripple ¹ and ruffle ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of riffle¹

C18: probably from _ruffle ¹ , influenced by _ripple ¹

Example Sentences

The stream banks were denuded of vegetation and the riffle crests obliterated as the choked stream tried to reach the sea.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He riffled through his backpack and divvied up a few nugs from his florid personal stash, a welcome gift to the West Coast.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They returned to her office, and while Mother tried to figure out what was happening, Dr. Cooper riffled through a filing cabinet, mumbling to herself.

Read more on Literature

The songs often morph through multiple changes of tempo and texture, riffling unpredictably through indie-rock austerity, orchestral lushness, pop perkiness and hallucinatory electronic studio concoctions, like the cascade of wavery, overlapping piano lines in “Connect.”

Read more on New York Times

Ella riffled through the cabinet of herbs, eyes scanning over all the little drawers of dried roots and plants, the labels in Latin: trillium grandiflorum, viburnum, eugenia pimenta, and so on.

Read more on Literature