Ri"fling (?), n. (a) The act or process of making the grooves in a rifled cannon or gun barrel. (b) The system of grooves in a rifled gun barrel or cannon.

Ri"fling (?), n. (a) The act or process of making the grooves in a rifled cannon or gun barrel. (b) The system of grooves in a rifled gun barrel or cannon.

• A mechanism to improve accuracy in firearms. The handgun or rifle's barrel is manufactured in such a way that there are a number of scores, or ridges, from one end of the barrel to the other. These ridges travel radially down the barrel in such a way that the bullet is forced through several revolutions as the pressure from the powder's explosion pushes it down the barrel. By the time the bullet reaches the end of a rifled barrel, the centrifugal force generated by its spin helps to counteract other forces that would otherwise push the bullet from its intended trajectory. It especially prevents the random tumble the bullet would otherwise experience. Before rifling, this random tumble dictated that bullets must be round to minimize the resultant chaotic aerodynamic forces. With rifling, accuracy improves for a barrel-shaped bullet. The bullet gained a much more controllable trajectory. Rifling made improvements such as hollowpoints, sharpened tips, and extreme sniper range possible.
  
• Present participle of to rifle; to search thru a container or place.
        He was caught rifling thru her desk.