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

Here, the same guidelines apply: Using a colander or sieve—or just your hands—search through the sediment at the shoreline. —Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Sep. 2024

Cleanup crews wearing full-body hazmat suits strode into the tide with hand sieves to try to collect the lentil-size plastic pellets. —CBS News, 3 Oct. 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