1. To turn quickly through pages or a collection, often by sliding a thumb along their edges.
2. To shuffle cards by interleaving two portions, or the shuffle and sound produced.
3. A shallow part of a stream where water flows over an uneven bed and becomes broken or rippled.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- riffle through the pages
- riffle a stack of papers
- riffle through a catalogue
On the page
She riffled through the notebook until the pressed flower fell out.
He riffled the pages with his thumb, watching for the torn corner.
He riffled the cards once and placed the untouched pack between them.
The dry riffle of the deck was the only answer she received.
The stream narrowed into a riffle where the pale stones broke the surface.
Word forms
- Base
- riffle
- Past tense
- riffled
- Past participle
- riffled
- Present participle
- riffling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- riffle
- Present continuous
- am/is/are riffling
- Present perfect
- have/has riffled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been riffling
- Past
- riffled
- Past continuous
- was/were riffling
- Past perfect
- had riffled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been riffling
- Future
- will riffle
- Future continuous
- will be riffling
- Future perfect
- will have riffled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been riffling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Verb and count noun. Riffles, riffled, riffled, riffling; future will riffle. Distinguish riffle through pages from rifle through belongings: the latter is a different verb. Register: neutral. Commonness: uncommon in general conversation; useful in descriptive prose (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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