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   Ri·fle

   /ˈrīf(ə)l/

   

   noun

   • 1. a gun, especially one fired from shoulder level, having a long spirally grooved barrel intended to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance: "a hunting rifle"
   • ▪ troops armed with rifles: "the Burma Rifles"

   verb

   • 1. make spiral grooves in (a gun or its barrel or bore) to make a bullet spin and thereby have greater accuracy over a long distance: "there are four basic ways to rifle a gun barrel"
   • 2. hit, throw, or kick (a ball or puck) hard and straight: "he rifled a hard, rising shot from just inside the blue line"

   Word Origin mid 17th century: from French rifler ‘graze, scratch’, of Germanic origin. The earliest noun usage was in rifle gun, which had ‘rifles’ or spiral grooves cut into the inside of the barrel.

   Scrabble Points: 8

   • R

     1

   • I

     1

   • F

     4

   • L

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   • E

     1

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