sift
[ sift ]
/ sɪft /
Save This Word!
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to sift something.
to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THE MANY TYPES OF NOUNS
They're everywhere you turn, but can you identify the 10 types of nouns easily? This quiz will test your mettle against singular, plural, concrete, abstract, common, proper, collective, compound, countable, and uncountable nouns!
Question 1 of 7
Shoelaces, rainbow, toothpaste, and haircuts are all what type of noun?
Meet Grammar Coach
Improve Your Writing
Origin of sift
before 900; Middle English siften,Old English siftan; cognate with Dutch, Middle Low German siften; akin to sieve
OTHER WORDS FROM sift
outsift, verb (used with object)pre·sift, verb (used with object)re·sift, verb (used with object)un·sift·ed, adjectiveWords nearby sift
sieve-tube element, Sieyès, sif, sifaka, Sifrei Torah, sift, sifter, siftings, SIG, siganid, Sigatoka
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for sift
British Dictionary definitions for sift
sift
/ (sɪft) /
verb
(tr) to sieve (sand, flour, etc) in order to remove the coarser particles
to scatter (something) over a surface through a sieve
(tr) to separate with or as if with a sieve; distinguish between
(tr) to examine minutelyto sift evidence
(intr) to move as if through a sieve
Derived forms of sift
sifter, nounWord Origin for sift
Old English siftan; related to Middle Low German siften to sift, Dutch ziften; see sieve
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012