rifle butt
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˈraɪfəl bʌt/
:
culata
- The soldier adjusted his grip, ensuring the rifle butt was securely against his shoulder.
- shoving the rifle butt
- hit with rifle butts
- beaten with rifle butts
Examples
-
They broke every window with their rifle butts before riding off into the night, their torches flaming.
Fiction book (1992) -
Alfred raises the rifle butt behind him.
Fiction book (1991) -
Wyatt paused with the rifle butt at his shoulder.
Blog text (32) -
Prods a hump of greenery with the rifle butt, and in a flash...
Fiction book (2002) -
Alain finishes him, smashing his rifle butt down on the Riff's head.
Fiction book (1998) -
He rested his shoulder against the rifle butt before taking aim.
-
She felt a jolt as the rifle butt pressed into her shoulder when she fired the weapon.
Synonyms
1
7.4
The thicker end of something, often the handle of a tool
1
7.6
A part of a rifle or shotgun that you hold against your shoulder when you fire
1
8.7
The rear part of a gun that rests against the shoulder to help aim and steady it
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is a straightforward composition of 'rifle' (a firearm) and 'butt' (the thicker/base end of a handle or stem), yielding a part-of relationship that directly identifies the thick end of the rifle. This is a common, cross-linguistically transparent compound pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Rifle butt shows a simple, literal picture: the butt is the thick back end of the gun that is pressed into the shoulder. Soldiers press the rifle butt there 'to steady' the weapon when they 'fire', so the name means the thick end of a rifle you hold against your shoulder.