sieve

1 of 2

noun

ˈsiv 

: a device with meshes or perforations through which finer particles of a mixture (as of ashes, flour, or sand) of various sizes may be passed to separate them from coarser ones, through which the liquid may be drained from liquid-containing material, or through which soft materials may be forced for reduction to fine particles

sieve

2 of 2

verb

sieved; sieving

: sift

Examples of sieve in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

To freeze egg whites: Strain whites through a sieve. —Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 10 Dec. 2024

Warm the marmalade to loosen its consistency without bringing it to the boil, then strain the marmalade through a sieve and place the jelly back into the saucepan. —The Week Uk, theweek, 5 May 2024

Verb

Stock screens Morgan Stanley did a few stock screens to sieve out those set to benefit. —Weizhen Tan, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2024

The sieving methods cannot be generalized so far as to push the result down to N = 2, however. —Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 7 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sive, from Old English sife; akin to Old High German sib sieve

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing sieve

• have a memory/mind like a sieve
• molecular sieve
• sieve of Eratosthenes
• sieve plate
• sieve tube

Kids Definition

sieve

1 of 2 noun

ˈsiv 

: a device with meshes or holes to separate finer particles from coarser ones or solids from liquids

sieve

2 of 2 verb

sieved; sieving

: to put through a sieve : sift

sieve the tomatoes to remove the seeds