Definition of "rifling" [ri•fling]

• The process or operation of cutting spiral grooves in a rifle barrel. (noun)
• Grooves cut in a rifle barrel. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This stupid practice of Reloaders believing to seat the bullet until it barely touches the rifling is the best way to blow your head off!"
• "In theory it keeps your shots more consistent because the amount of force it takes to launch the bullet into the rifling is uniform from shot-to-shot."
• "The rifling is scorched about a third of the way up the barrel."