sift
verb (used with object)
to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes, etc.) with a sieve.
had been sifting
-
past perfect progressiveof sift.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
The FBI director said his agents had been sifting through 11,000 leads received as of Friday morning.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2025
State agencies and colleges have been asked to prepare for budget cuts of up to 10 percent of their state financing, and the Edwards administration had been sifting through those scenarios.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 14, 2016
One of the center’s founders, the art scholar and painter Linda Carter Lefko, said the group’s members had been sifting through decades of published and unpublished research.
From New York Times ● Nov. 19, 2015
But growers had been sifting out a small-sized family member of the seed when they planted new crops in order to produce larger, uniform-sized seeds.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2012
My mother had been sifting through the mail and placing envelopes on the table next to her after she glanced at them.
From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English
