sift
Americanverb (used with object)
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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.
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to separate by or as if by a sieve.
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to examine closely.
The detectives are still sifting the evidence.
- Synonyms:
- probe, search, inspect, scrutinize, sort
-
to question closely.
verb (used without object)
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to sift something.
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to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.
verb
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(tr) to sieve (sand, flour, etc) in order to remove the coarser particles
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to scatter (something) over a surface through a sieve
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(tr) to separate with or as if with a sieve; distinguish between
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(tr) to examine minutely
to sift evidence
-
(intr) to move as if through a sieve
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing sift
Stairway To Leaven: Baking Vocabulary
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Holes
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Twelve Angry Men
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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.
Agents run the images through facial recognition programs to sift for names, the officials said, and comb through intercepted phone calls.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
For now, the technology is being test-driven on a “population that can afford it,” says Dr. Julie Chen, chief medical officer for Radence, which uses AI to help sift through clinical studies.
From Barron's • May 21, 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
Tiny snow crystals sift down through the moonlight.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
