rifling
1 Americannoun
-
the act or process of cutting spiral grooves in a gun barrel, pipe, etc.
-
the system of spiral grooves so cut.
noun
noun
-
the cutting of spiral grooves on the inside of a firearm's barrel
-
the series of grooves so cut
Etymology
Origin of rifling1
First recorded in 1790–1800; rifle 1 + -ing 1
Origin of rifling2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In any other part of civilized society, rifling through someone else’s diary is considered an outrageous invasion of privacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
Pope got the assist for the second goal as Antonio Silva failed to intercept his throw and 27-year-old Barnes sped clear before rifling low and hard into the far corner.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
Still, even in a movie where people are always skulking around rifling through each other’s things, his claim that he chose a drunken late night to confront Maggie about plagiarism sounds inconceivable.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025
"We are all more than one mistake," he said, adding that Labour was "terrified" of his popularity if they were "rifling through stories from a long time ago where I was clearly misrepresented".
From BBC • Sep. 2, 2025
She started rifling through her pack, no doubt looking for something that might help.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
