sift
verb (used with object)
to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes, etc.) with a sieve.
were sifting
-
past progressiveof sift.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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 scene had been cordoned off by security forces, and investigators were sifting through the debris.
From Barron's ● Dec. 22, 2025
The firetruck pulled up to a checkpoint Saturday morning near where emergency workers were sifting through the wreckage caused by the Palisades fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2025
While they were sifting through the samples under the microscope, they noticed that “we would see things that kind of wiggled differently,” Christ said.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022
That’s also when Irish artists were sifting through the human wreckage of the Celtic Tiger, an economic boom that collapsed into painful recession and left Ireland littered with abandoned housing developments.
From New York Times ● Oct. 27, 2022
Fine blurs of mist were sifting gently across the still, lavender surface.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
