riffle

[ rif-uhl ]
See synonyms for riffle on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object),rif·fled, rif·fling.
  1. to turn hastily; flutter and shift: to riffle a stack of letters; to riffle through a book.

  2. Cards. to shuffle by dividing the deck in two, raising the corners slightly, and allowing them to fall alternately together.

  1. to cause or become a riffle.

noun
  1. a rapid, as in a stream.

  2. a ripple, as upon the surface of water.

  1. Mining. the lining of transverse bars or slats on the bed of a sluice, arranged so as to catch heavy minerals, as gold or platinum.

  2. a hopper for distributing bulk material.

  3. the act or method of riffling cards.

Origin of riffle

1
1630–40; blend of ripple1 and ruffle1

Other words from riffle

  • un·rif·fled, adjective

Words that may be confused with riffle

Words Nearby riffle

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use riffle in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for riffle

riffle

/ (ˈrɪfəl) /


verb
  1. (when intr , often foll by through) to flick rapidly through (the pages of a book, magazine, etc), esp in a desultory manner

  2. to shuffle (playing cards) by halving the pack and flicking the adjacent corners together

  1. to make or become a riffle

noun
  1. US and Canadian

    • a rapid in a stream

    • a rocky shoal causing a rapid

    • a ripple on water

  2. mining a contrivance on the bottom of a sluice, containing transverse grooves for trapping particles of gold

  1. the act or an instance of riffling

Origin of riffle

1
C18: probably from ruffle 1, influenced by ripple 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012