rifleman

[ rahy-fuhl-muhn ]

noun

, plural ri·fle·men.

1. a soldier armed with a rifle.
2. a person skilled in the use of a rifle.

rifleman

/ ˈraɪfəlmən /

noun

1. a person skilled in the use of a rifle, esp a soldier
2. See bush wren
   Also calledtitipounamu a wren, Acanthisitta chloris , of New Zealand: family Xenicidae See also bush wren

Other Words From

• rifle·man·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of rifleman¹

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75; rifle ¹ + -man

Example Sentences

If Rifleman is rather a tragic character, his ally Alexander “Babay” Mozhayev is more comic.

From The Daily Beast

He was assigned as a rifleman to Fox Company, Second Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment.

From The Daily Beast

The idea here is to permit each rifleman to believe that he is not a killer.

From The Daily Beast

The miller was glad that a rifleman from his own canton should prove the best shot, and should have won universal applause.

From Project Gutenberg

The rifleman kept running, seeming not to hear him in his panic.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Simon Uhlmann presented a bronze figure of a rifleman, as second annual prize.

From Project Gutenberg

While making for this point, a sail was sighted, which proved to be the British brig-sloop "Rifleman."

From Project Gutenberg

The glasses crashed one after another like gelatine balls hit by the bullets of an expert rifleman.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• assassin
• gunman
• hit woman
• murderer
• sniper