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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rifling
The woman’s daughter showed investigators video footage showing Robinson rifling through the woman’s drawers, selecting items and hiding them on her body.
—
Kairi Lowery,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—
Julie Rousseau,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—
Michael Schaub,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Guentzel, meanwhile, had a strong game, just missing a goal after rifling one off the post in the second period before tallying the team’s first goal late in the same period, a huge one.
—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside.
—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Restaurant workers saw Wyatt rifling through the vehicle, taking things out and looking for something to steal, Batista said.
—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
2 Jan. 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
Kairi Lowery,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2026
On solo trips, there’s nothing worse than arriving somewhere and rifling through a mess of clothes; these cubes keep everything organized from lift‑off to landing.
—
Julie Rousseau,
Travel + Leisure,
24 May 2026
Who better to tell the tale of the city than the man who has spent years rifling through its junk?
—
Michael Schaub,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Guentzel, meanwhile, had a strong game, just missing a goal after rifling one off the post in the second period before tallying the team’s first goal late in the same period, a huge one.
—
Arpon Basu,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
Adding to the chaos of the moment, Courtney encountered a bear rifling through the garbage outside.
—
Erin Clack,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
Restaurant workers saw Wyatt rifling through the vehicle, taking things out and looking for something to steal, Batista said.
—
Nicole Hensley,
Houston Chronicle,
2 Jan. 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
-
French and Monaco authorities are searching for the attacker, whose motive is under investigation, Monaco's most senior government official, Minister of State Christophe Mirmand, told reporters.
-
For five days Oswadeliz Núñez Ramírez has been frantically searching for her son across hospitals in La Guaira and Caracas.
Verb
-
Nashville — Steve Crook squints through the sun, scanning his surroundings with precision.
-
And by passing footage to police rather than scanning them, Gabriel positions itself to avoid responsibility for the misidentifications that follow, says Pablo Nunes, director of the Center for Studies on Public Safety and Citizenship, a non-governmental organization based in Rio de Janeiro.
Verb
-
Rescuers have been combing through the rubble of the hotel in a desperate attempt to save any survivors.
-
Watchers of the original have been combing through the unrated version, which lists the same runtime as the original, looking for differences.
Cite this Entry
“Rifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifling. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
