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

Researchers are still developing the algorithms that will ultimately be used to sift through the enormous volumes of data. —Dan Falk, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 June 2024

Police and business owners sifted through dozens of hours of surveillance video, hoping to track the distinctly dressed man seen attacking Klein. —Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2024

Paige and his team sifted through the scientific literature to find dozens of examples of stone artifacts created by hominins over the past 3.3 million years. —Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 17 June 2024

The machine separates chunks too big to crush, but someone has to manually sift through the labels and bottle caps. —Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 8 June 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