nounriflemen

• 1A soldier armed with a rifle, especially a private in a rifle regiment.

  ‘Opinions began to alter during the wars of the mid-18th century and military riflemen appeared in most combatant nations' armies, albeit in small numbers.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Though the automatic rifle has changed, the role of the automatic rifleman has not since its conception circa World War I. The automatic rifleman supports the infantry squad in the offense and defense.’
  • ‘Lately, some have been saying that every soldier is a rifleman.’
  • ‘One usually thinks of the paradigmatic soldier is the front line rifleman, or maybe a guy buttoned up in a tank.’
  • ‘Soldiers and leaders of all ranks and positions, from riflemen to brigade and division commanders in country, were interviewed to obtain the most recent views of the COE.’
  • ‘The main feeling in British military circles is that Brigadier David Richards' paratroopers and Gurkha riflemen will be in Sierra Leone ‘for as long as it takes’.’
  • ‘Rubin served with Company I, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, as a rifleman.’
  • ‘During World War I, the USMC trained Marines to be expert riflemen first and foremost.’
  • ‘Gunners and riflemen must identify sectors of fire and ensure all avenues of approach are covered.’
  • ‘It was estimated in 1930 that 18 per cent of the riflemen in an average regiment had never fired a rifle and one-quarter had never thrown a grenade.’
  • ‘In the 3rd Battalion, Company K had 17 riflemen left and Company I had eight riflemen left.’
  • ‘Deploying, the riflemen heavily engaged the enemy on both sides of the road.’
  • ‘Civilian target shooters, using Garands in matches against military riflemen equipped with match-grade M14s, found themselves at a severe disadvantage.’
  • ‘I doubt if we can ever train some soldiers who do specialist jobs to be riflemen.’
  • ‘Two years and eight months later he would be a rifleman in an infantry platoon, being transported across the Pacific Ocean for the invasion of Japan.’
  • ‘By the time the Germans mounted their eighth assault, the remaining riflemen had exhausted their ammunition.’
  • ‘He was an infantry rifleman and spent 18 months there as a sniper.’
  • ‘Elements of the 1st Battalion fought separate actions in the same general area attempting to clean up isolated enemy riflemen and machine-gun positions.’
  • ‘The key advantage of the M203 / M16 combination was that you could fire the grenade and then function as a rifleman without having to take time to reload.’
  • ‘Instead of having nine squad leaders, we were forced to battle-roster 16 staff sergeants into various positions throughout the company, including positions as team leaders and riflemen.’

  Synonyms

  marksman, markswoman, shooter, rifleman

  1. 1.1A person skilled at using a rifle.
     ‘Shooting far, really far, in the mountains at inanimate targets with safe backstops is challenging and downright fascinating, even to the most practiced rifleman.’
     More example sentences

     • ‘It's the type of precision rifle you can shoot all day over a prairie dog town or snuggle down solidly in some sandbags and produce those little, bragging groups that warm the heart of any rifleman.’
     • ‘Whereas Twain on the warpath was a sharp shooting rifleman and Mencken laid about with the broadsword, Brooks's literary weapon is the tweezers.’
     • ‘Brown's goal is to serve a niche market, the discriminating and influential group of rifleman who want the ultimate in consistency and reliability.’
     • ‘Written in a simple and easy to understand manner, this volume will be of interest to both the novice and seasoned rifleman alike.’
     • ‘Very friendly and good natured, Stronskiy is the type of man any serious rifleman would love to talk with.’
     • ‘I suspect what intrigues many rifleman in this type of rifle is their accuracy and reliability.’
     • ‘And every shooter surely knows at least one rifleman who simply will use nothing but Noslers for hunting.’
     • ‘Now Jeff is not a suit who owns an ammunition company but rather a well respected rifleman.’
     • ‘The annual shooting match originated in 1890, when Adelaide politician and keen rifleman Alfred Simpson donated a custom made trophy and set up a fund to support the local military competition.’

• 2A very small, short-tailed, greenish-yellow songbird which feeds on insects on tree bark, native to New Zealand.

  Acanthisitta chloris, family Xenicidae

  ‘In this area you may see the brown creeper, tomtit, robin, bellbird, rifleman, wood pigeon, falcon and kea.’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The bush has abundant bird life, including the bellbird, tomtit, rifleman, wood pigeon and grey warbler.’
  • ‘The rifleman (a New Zealand wren, Acanthisitta chloris: fam Acanthisittidae) is a basal passerine.’
  • ‘There appears to be a decline in numbers of great spotted kiwi, blue duck, kaka, rifleman, brown creeper and long tailed bat in the Grey and Maruia valleys, although there was minimal harvesting in these areas.’
  • ‘My state of anxiety was quickly dispelled when a rifleman flew onto a nearby branch in clear view.’