Synonyms

sift

American

[sift] / sɪft /

verb (used with object)

to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes, etc.) with a sieve.
to scatter or sprinkle through or by means of a sieve.

to sift sugar onto cake.
to separate by or as if by a sieve.
to examine closely.

The detectives are still sifting the evidence.

Synonyms:

probe, search, inspect, scrutinize, sort
to question closely.

verb (used without object)

to sift something.
to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.

sift British

/ sɪft /

verb

(tr) to sieve (sand, flour, etc) in order to remove the coarser particles
to scatter (something) over a surface through a sieve
(tr) to separate with or as if with a sieve; distinguish between
(tr) to examine minutely

to sift evidence
(intr) to move as if through a sieve

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of sift

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

Explanation

To bake a cake, you sift the flour to get out the lumps. When you sift, you separate out one thing from another. When you sort through the mail looking for the bills or go through your photos to find that shot of your dog, that’s sifting, too. Detectives sift through piles of evidence when investigating crimes, and you might sift through the hundred applications you get from drummers eager to join your band, to find Ms. Right. When you're at the beach, you can sift sand through your fingers, and you might see big machines that sift the sand to clean it.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

FPL has become so competitive that it's led to a whole industry of content creators offering weekly tips for anyone looking to sift through stats as the season goes on.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

“It took them a whole lot of energy and effort to sift through all these things to find this needle in the haystack,” said Doyle, a longtime immigration attorney.

From Salon • May 14, 2026

Researchers carefully sift through dirt samples and use specialized tools called micromanipulators to isolate the tiny shards.

From Science Daily • May 11, 2026

Manus, created by startup Butterfly Effect, can sift through and summarise resumes or create a stock analysis website, according to its website.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

Joaquin started to sift through the photos again, looking at the baby in each of them, looking at himself.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023