sift

verb

ˈsift 

sifted; sifting; sifts

transitive verb

1

a

: to put through a sieve

sift flour

b

: to separate or separate out by or as if by putting through a sieve

2

: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable

sifted the evidence

—often used with through

sift through a pile of old letters

3

: to scatter by or as if by sifting

sift sugar on a cake

intransitive verb

1

: to use a sieve

2

: to pass or fall as if through a sieve

sifter noun

Examples of sift in a Sentence

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.

Sift the lumps from the sugar.

The police sifted the evidence in hopes of finding a clue.

The police sifted for clues.

The lawyer sifted through the hundreds of pages of testimony.

Firefighters sifted through the debris.

Recent Examples on the Web

For example, instead of sifting through numerous manual pages, a technician can describe the issue to the chatbot and receive an instant, precise recommendation on potential fixes, provided system documentation is up to date. —Daniel Fallmann, Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

Andersen has been one of the most prominent leaders of an international group of scientists who have been sifting through scientific evidence collected in the early weeks of the pandemic, trying to understand just how the global public health crisis started. —Brenda Goodman, CNN, 19 Sep. 2024

All of those connections did muddy the story and create a voluminous record of evidence that was difficult to sift through. —Ash Parrish, The Verge, 14 Sep. 2024

Their native dirt pile, which sits atop Mason Mountain, is brought down to the water flume for people of all ages to sift through. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English siftan; akin to Old English sife sieve

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Kids Definition

sift

verb

ˈsift 

1

a

: to put through a sieve

sift flour

b

: to separate or separate out by or as if by putting through a sieve

2

: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable

sift evidence

sift through a pile of papers

sifter noun