sift
Americanverb (used with object)
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to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes, etc.) with a sieve.
-
to scatter or sprinkle through or by means of a sieve.
to sift sugar onto cake.
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to separate by or as if by a sieve.
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to examine closely.
The detectives are still sifting the evidence.
- Synonyms:
- probe , search , inspect , scrutinize , sort
-
to question closely.
verb (used without object)
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to sift something.
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to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.
verb
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(tr) to sieve (sand, flour, etc) in order to remove the coarser particles
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to scatter (something) over a surface through a sieve
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(tr) to separate with or as if with a sieve; distinguish between
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(tr) to examine minutely
to sift evidence
-
(intr) to move as if through a sieve
Other Word Forms
- outsift verb (used with object)
- presift verb (used with object)
- resift verb (used with object)
- sifter noun
- unsifted adjective
Etymology
Origin of sift
before 900; Middle English siften, Old English siftan; cognate with Dutch, Middle Low German siften; akin to sieve
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Joanna went over to Venice to sift through crates and crates of the gold leaf mosaic to find the right colours.
From BBC
Fung is among those engaged in an increasingly desperate search for missing loved ones, which took him to a victim identification station where he and his wife sifted through photos of the dead.
From Barron's
Meticulous in his habits and wedded to his routines, George loves the sterile formality of the police interview room, where, unmoved by the emotional outbursts of others, he patiently sifts fact from fabrication.
Firms who would have previously hired PwC consultants to sift through data and documents may now use AI models instead, turning weeks of costly work into mere minutes.
From BBC
But there wasn’t much benefit in tracking sales of shovels, pick axes, and sifting pans in order to validate the bull case for the California Gold Rush.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
