as in searched
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
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Recent Examples of rifled
In the 42nd minute, Pride forward Jacquie Ovalle picked Emma Regan’s pocket and rifled a shot from distance, which forced keeper Abby Smith to make one of many important saves on the night.
—
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026
Scotland captain Robertson rifled in a low shot from outside the penalty box 10 minutes into the second half to put Liverpool ahead and then Salah crashed home his enticing cross two minutes later.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
The score stayed that way until Hughes, a New Jersey Devils’ forward, rifled a shot under Binnington’s pads for his fourth score of the tournament, ending both the game and the Games.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
The junior then rifled a cross towards the near post, where a cutting Annabel Grentz headed it into the bottom-right corner, handing the Patriots the 2-1 advantage.
—Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
On the Knicks’ opening offensive possession, Brunson blew by Kawhi Leonard with a crafty in-and-out, got two feet into the paint to force then rifled a pass to OG Anunoby in the corner.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought and give the hosts a 5-1 lead near the midpoint of the second period.
—Oc Register, 5 Jan. 2026
Tampa Bay erased a one-goal deficit when Jake Guentzel got behind Florida’s special teams backline and rifled a short past Sergei Bobrovsky.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 21 Mar. 2026
Scotland captain Robertson rifled in a low shot from outside the penalty box 10 minutes into the second half to put Liverpool ahead and then Salah crashed home his enticing cross two minutes later.
—ABC News, 6 Mar. 2026
The score stayed that way until Hughes, a New Jersey Devils’ forward, rifled a shot under Binnington’s pads for his fourth score of the tournament, ending both the game and the Games.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
The junior then rifled a cross towards the near post, where a cutting Annabel Grentz headed it into the bottom-right corner, handing the Patriots the 2-1 advantage.
—Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
On the Knicks’ opening offensive possession, Brunson blew by Kawhi Leonard with a crafty in-and-out, got two feet into the paint to force then rifled a pass to OG Anunoby in the corner.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought.
—CBS News, 6 Jan. 2026
Ovechkin then rifled home a wrister from the left circle to end a four-game goal drought and give the hosts a 5-1 lead near the midpoint of the second period.
—Oc Register, 5 Jan. 2026
Tampa Bay erased a one-goal deficit when Jake Guentzel got behind Florida’s special teams backline and rifled a short past Sergei Bobrovsky.
—Adam H. Beasley, Miami Herald, 28 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rifled
Verb
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As Pivetta searched for his accuracy in the first inning, neither the former reliever Stammen nor pitching coach Ruben Niebla had success in getting the righty on track.—
Tom Krasovic,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
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State police later searched the area near the steel bridge and found among the piles of wood chips an envelope bearing the victim’s name, pieces of bone and tissue, a human fingernail and crowns to the victim’s teeth, prosecutors said.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Yet this is also the same company that ripped the spine off millions of books, scanned their pages, and fed the text into Claude’s training data.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
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In August last year, McGrath scanned Ralph's brain using an MRI machine.—
Will Croxton,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Its founding principles—informed by an environmentally-conscious ethos and values which ‘protect the islands, support local communities, and do business in a…fair and future-focused way,’ says Dixon—mirrored those at Nikoi, and still hold strong today.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
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And the three who founded it in 1998 ran two unlicensed boarding schools in Missouri that have since been closed amid abuse allegations.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Because Buckley has short hair, a chignon or updo was not an option—but combed neatly back with a side part, clearing the face, feels like a very Grace Kelly detail.—
Ana Serrano,
Glamour,
16 Mar. 2026
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Police also covered the lake in those first few hours, and dogs and drones have combed the area to no avail.—
Sarah Dahlberg,
NBC news,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rifled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rifled. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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