riffle through

idiom

chiefly British

: to search through something quickly and carelessly often in order to take or steal something

He riffled through her purse while she was out of the room.

Examples of riffle through in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To riffle through the calendar’s listings is to journey through the many eras of American fashion: a certain label’s ubiquitousness reveals its towering relevance; the many locations of Fashion Weeks past are traceable; and allegiances within the industry can be clocked. —Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 17 Sep. 2024

But Ishika Singh wants to build a robot that can make dinner—one that can go into a kitchen, riffle through the fridge and cabinets, pull out ingredients that will coalesce into a tasty dish or two, then set the table. —David Berreby, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024

Lucy Sante and Darryl Pinckney, in the living room, riffle through vinyl records; Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy sit down for tea, his spiked with gin. —Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023

Keep reading to check out more weekend deals, or head straight to Amazon to riffle through everything else that's on sale right now. —Amy Schulman, PEOPLE.com, 6 May 2022

Meacham’s long riffle through the files of the totally familiar is not without some interesting findings. —Thomas Frank, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021