sieve
Americannoun
-
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.
-
a person who cannot keep a secret.
verb (used with or without object)
noun
-
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
-
rare a person who gossips and spreads secrets
-
a very poor memory
verb
-
to pass or cause to pass through a sieve
-
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; sift
Compare meaning
How does sieve compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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 average American home is about as airtight and well-insulated as a metal sieve.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
That could have maybe turned into something, but Chelsea wants the sieve, she wants to pour down the plug hole.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2025
It’s a kind of medievalism, in other words, that seems to have passed through a sieve of Jane Austen or Emily Brontë; now you can see it in the works of medieval-themed romantasy novels.
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2025
"If you imagine the lungs like a sieve, smoking will break holes in the sieve, so more can get through," says Prof Tregoning.
From BBC • Feb. 8, 2025
I took the beaker from him and poured the contents through a gauze sieve into one of Mother’s empty Lydia Pinkham’s bottles.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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.
