sift

[ sift ]

/ sɪft /

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See synonyms for: sift / sifting on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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.

to separate by or as if by a sieve.

to examine closely: The detectives are still sifting the evidence.

to question closely.

verb (used without object)

to sift something.

to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.

OTHER WORDS FOR sift

4 sort, scrutinize, inspect, search, probe.

See synonyms for sift on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sift in a sentence

Added microalgae can gobble up the fats and oils, and fine filters sift out the other bad junk.
Two Companies See a Golden Opportunity in the Tijuana River’s Brown Waters|MacKenzie Elmer|November 20, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Too bad Lisa Robinson didn’t focus more on how women are shaping music’s future, rather than sifting through the ashes of the past.
Beyoncé, Joni Mitchell and more: A veteran journalist tries to give female stars their due|Elizabeth Hand|November 12, 2020|Washington Post
Spoon the mixture into a small fine-mesh sieve with larger holes, sift the ingredients through, discarding any remaining unground bits.
Orange-sriracha glazed duck and roasted fruit are a stunning sheet-pan dinner combination|Olga Massov|November 10, 2020|Washington Post
The technology can help engineers manage multiple design variations for semiconductors, for example, or sift through routine bug reports that software developers would otherwise have to manually review to figure out what is causing a glitch.
With trust in AI, manufacturers can build better|Jason Sparapani|October 28, 2020|MIT Technology Review

On the podcast, the crew sifted through the flurry of political mailers in recent days and pulled out a few interesting ones in the San Diego mayor’s race.
Morning Report: Where Unlawful Assembly Arrests Stand|Voice of San Diego|October 12, 2020|Voice of San Diego
But as the forensic scientists continue sifting through the remains of the mass graves, that possibility seems remote.
Anatomy of a Mexican Student Massacre|Jason McGahan|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sifting sand and putting it back in place is really a short-term fix, say experts.
Superstorm Who? Sandy’s Hard-Hit Beach Towns Reopen for Business|Eliza Shapiro, Josh Dzieza|May 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once the sand was plowed back onto the beaches, volunteers scoured it for any flotsam that got through the sifting machines.
Superstorm Who? Sandy’s Hard-Hit Beach Towns Reopen for Business|Eliza Shapiro, Josh Dzieza|May 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sifting the ashes of an attack in revolutionary Arab states is hard.
Bruce Riedel: Stop the Libya Blame Game|Bruce Riedel|October 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Sifting through snapshots of her in various pageants, their faces radiate with pride.
Models vs. Militants: Nisha Pahuja’s Film Shows Two Worlds of Indian Women|Abigail Pesta|May 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was a tremendous training in the sifting of evidence and the examination of appearances.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
In spite of his gloom, he caught himself sifting and assorting and placing things in their relative values.
Blazed Trail Stories|Stewart Edward White
Without sifting the nature of Beauty, without giving some definition of it, nobody can attempt to construct a Hierarchy of Art.
The Life of Mazzini|Bolton King
This is what, after much sorting and sifting, I could get to know about the definite facts of it.
History Of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. VII. (of XXI.)|Thomas Carlyle
Men might have thought that some being from above was sifting down to the earth lurid darkness.
Let us follow Him|Henryk Sienkiewicz

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, noun

Word 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

sift

OTHER WORDS FOR sift

Origin of sift

OTHER WORDS FROM sift

Words related to sift

How to use sift in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sift

Derived forms of sift

Word Origin for sift