sieve

American  

[siv] / sɪv /

noun

1. an instrument with a meshed or perforated bottom, used for separating coarse from fine parts of loose matter, for straining liquids, etc., especially one with a circular frame and fine meshes or perforations.

2. a person who cannot keep a secret.

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verb (used with or without object)

sieved, sieving

1. to put or force through a sieve; sift.

sieve British  

/ sɪv /

noun

1. a device for separating lumps from powdered material, straining liquids, grading particles, etc, consisting of a container with a mesh or perforated bottom through which the material is shaken or poured

2. rare a person who gossips and spreads secrets

3. a very poor memory

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verb

1. to pass or cause to pass through a sieve

2. to separate or remove (lumps, materials, etc) by use of a sieve

Other Word Forms

• sievelike
  adjective
• unsieved
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of sieve

First recorded before 900; Middle English sive, Old English sife; cognate with Dutch zeef, German Sieb; cf. sift

Compare meaning

How does sieve compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• sieve vs. strainer
• colander vs. sieve

Explanation

A sieve is a mesh strainer used to separate lumps and clumps from the fine material. Sieves are handy for everything from sifting flour to prospecting for gold — anything where you need to separate the big from the small. If you’re an archaeologist, you've probably used various sorts of sifters and shakers to sieve through the soil to recover even the tiniest artifacts. If your interests run more to building sandcastles, you’ve probably got a sieve in your beach bag, along with the shovels and pails. If you keep forgetting things, you can describe your "mind as a sieve," since it doesn’t seem to hold much.

Example Sentences

Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl.

From The Guardian • Oct. 18, 2015

Sieve the flour and cocoa into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder and salt.

From The Guardian • Jun. 14, 2014

Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images It was at 4.57pm and after a roar spread among those gathered in the North Terrace, known here as "The Sieve" due to its leaky roof, that everyone could rejoice.

From The Guardian • Apr. 28, 2013

India contributed Amrita and Nectar in a Sieve, the latter by the author of the latest Indian entry, Some Inner Fury.

From Time Magazine Archive

Far and few, far and few, Are the lands where the Jumblies live; Their heads are green, and their hands are blue, And they went to sea in a Sieve.

From The Jumblies and Other Nonsense Verses by Lear, Edward

Related Words

• colander