Wiktionary
n. A long-range rifle, usually equipped with a telescopic sight and often a night-vision device.
WordNet
n. an extremely powerful rifle developed for the military; capable of destroying light armored vehicles and aircraft more than a mile away [syn: precision rifle]
Wikipedia
A sniper rifle is a man-portable, high precision, shoulder-fired rifle, for military or law enforcement use, designed to ensure more accurate shooting at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for high levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military centerfire cartridge.
The military role of a sniper (a term derived from the snipe, a bird which was difficult to hunt and shoot) dates back to the turn of the 18th century, but the true sniper rifle is a much more recent development. Advances in technology, particularly in telescopic sights, and more accurate manufacturing allowed armies to equip specially trained soldiers with rifles that enabled them to deliver precise shots over greater distances than regular infantry weapons. Some sniper rifles are based on the designs of standard rifles, and some of the most recently designed sniper rifles use semi-automatic fire, for example the M110.
Usage examples of "sniper rifle".
Dagger sat off at a table by himself, his sniper rifle being cared for by hands that almost caressed it.
He'd taken the teleport down to the ground level and now walked out of the fort carrying his sniper rifle.
She jerked her thumb at the beefy specialist who had been holding the sniper rifle.
Brown was down to his last magazine in his sniper rifle, and he wasn't sure how many rounds he had left.
His finger slid around the sniper rifle's trigger and took up slack.
To emphasize his words, Gogol stood and took down his old sniper rifle from the Great Patriotic War, leaving the new Austrian rifle.
But he wouldn't need the sniper rifle for this shot, only the long-barrel Beretta.
Taking Brown's sniper rifle, the L-T peered through the starlight scope, which extended his view to better than four hundred meters.
Before, Nate had used the bag to carry loaded magazines for his G-3 sniper rifle.
But they only really feel at home here, in Fedland, staring down the barrel of a telephoto lens, shotgun microphone, or sniper rifle.