rifleman

rif·le·man
R1I1F4L1E1M3A1N1
US, UK/ˈɹaɪ̯fəlmən/US, UK[ˈɹʷaɪ̯fəlmən] ~ [ˈɹʷaɪ̯fl̩mn̩]/ˈɹɐɪ̯fəlmən/[ˈɹʷɐɪ̯fəlmən] ~ [ˈɹʷɐɪ̯fl̩mn̩]

noun

A soldier trained to use a rifle as a primary weapon.

“The riflemen had not been issued their weapons yet, and hence they trained with wooden mock-up rifles.”

UncommonScrabble 13

Meanings

nounrifleman (plural riflemen)

plural riflemen

  1. A soldier trained to use a rifle as a primary weapon.

    The riflemen had not been issued their weapons yet, and hence they trained with wooden mock-up rifles.

    1 more example

    Anil Gurung joined the Army in 2006 as a rifleman with the 2nd Royal Gurkha Regiment.

    2020 May 6, Paul Stephen, “Britain's bravest thinks big”, in Rail, page 62
  2. A person especially skilled in the use of a rifle.

    She was quite the rifleman and could pick off a squirrels with a .22 from across the field with amazing accuracy.

  3. A small wrenlike insectivorous passerine bird endemic to New Zealand, Acanthisitta chloris, the titipounamu.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reyp-
  2. Proto-Germanic*rīfaną
  3. Proto-Germanic*rīfilōną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*rīfilōn
  5. Frankish*rīffilōn
  6. Old Frenchrifler
  7. Middle Englishriflen
  8. Englishrifle
  9. Proto-Indo-European*mon-
  10. Proto-Germanic*mann-
  11. Proto-West Germanic*mann
  12. Old Englishmann
  13. Middle Englishman
  14. Englishrifleman

From rifle + -man.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque fusilari
  • fusilarisoldier
Bulgarian стрелец, снайперист
  • стрелец (strelec)soldier
  • снайперист (snajperist)person skilled in the use of a rifle
Catalan fuseller
  • fusellersoldier
Finnish jääkäri, kiväärimies
  • jääkärisoldier
  • kiväärimiessoldier
  • kivääriampujaperson skilled in the use of a rifle
  • kiväärimiesperson skilled in the use of a rifle
  • metsävilistäjäAcanthisitta chloris
French fusilier
  • fusiliersoldier
Greek τυφεκιοφόρος
  • τυφεκιοφόρος (tyfekiofóros)soldier
Hungarian lövész
  • lövészperson skilled in the use of a rifle
Irish muscaedóir, fear raidhfil
  • muscaedóirsoldier
  • fear raidhfilsoldier
  • fear raidhfilperson skilled in the use of a rifle
Italian bersagliere, fuciliere
  • bersaglieresoldier
  • fucilieresoldier
Latvian strēlnieks, strēlniece
  • strēlniekssoldier
  • strēlniecesoldier
Māori tītitipounamu
  • tītitipounamuAcanthisitta chloris
Polish barglik
  • barglikAcanthisitta chloris
Portuguese fuzileiro
  • fuzileirosoldier
Russian стрелок
  • стрелок (strelok)soldier
Spanish fusilero
  • fusilerosoldier
Ukrainian стріле́ць
  • стріле́ць (strilécʹ)soldier

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

rifleman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rifleman

MLA

“rifleman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rifleman. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rifleman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rifleman.

Source: rifleman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.