sieve
Americannoun
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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.
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a person who cannot keep a secret.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
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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
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rare a person who gossips and spreads secrets
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a very poor memory
verb
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to pass or cause to pass through a sieve
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to separate or remove (lumps, materials, etc) by use of a sieve
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sievesimple
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sievessimple
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have sievedperfect
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has sievedperfect
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am sievingprogressive
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are sievingprogressive
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is sievingprogressive
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have been sievingperfect progressive
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has been sievingperfect progressive
Past
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sievedsimple
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had sievedperfect
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was sievingprogressive
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were sievingprogressive
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had been sievingperfect progressive
Future
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:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing sieve
Words to Know Before You Defrost the Bird
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Pestle, Sieve, and Whisk: Useful Words for Cooking Tools
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"The Tragedy of Macbeth," Vocabulary from Act 1
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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.
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
The Electric Company turned loose the Juice and the front four became the Steel Sieve.
From Time Magazine Archive
Strain through a Sieve into a bowl and add by degrees the whites of the Eggs beaten to a froth.
From The Ideal Bartender by Bullock, Tom
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
