sift

[ sift ]
See synonyms for sift on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes, etc.) with a sieve.

  2. to scatter or sprinkle through or by means of a sieve: to sift sugar onto cake.

  1. to separate by or as if by a sieve.

  2. to examine closely: The detectives are still sifting the evidence.

  3. to question closely.

verb (used without object)
  1. to sift something.

  2. to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.

Origin of sift

1
before 900; Middle English siften,Old English siftan; cognate with Dutch, Middle Low German siften; akin to sieve

Other words for sift

Other words from sift

  • outsift, verb (used with object)
  • pre·sift, verb (used with object)
  • re·sift, verb (used with object)
  • un·sift·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sift in a sentence

  • Immediately in front the light sifts down upon a rude bridge spanning a narrow stream.

    The Saxons | Edwin Davies Schoonmaker
  • The snow sifts through my door and window until I have a regular snowbank all along the inside of the house.

  • If yu ever sifts up my way drop in an' see me—th' boys'll give yu a good time.

    Hopalong Cassidy's Rustler Round-Up | Clarence Edward Mulford
  • The best way is to take a bunch of evergreen boughs, and brush the snow up over the mound so that it sifts lightly over the trap.

    Science of Trapping | Elmer Harry Kreps
  • Over and again he questioned her in the midst of her wild speeches, as a judge sifts the words of a doubtful witness.

    Silent Struggles | Ann S. Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for sift

sift

/ (sɪft) /


verb
  1. (tr) to sieve (sand, flour, etc) in order to remove the coarser particles

  2. to scatter (something) over a surface through a sieve

  1. (tr) to separate with or as if with a sieve; distinguish between

  2. (tr) to examine minutely: to sift evidence

  3. (intr) to move as if through a sieve

Origin of sift

1
Old English siftan; related to Middle Low German siften to sift, Dutch ziften; see sieve

Derived forms of sift

  • sifter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012