sift

verb

sifted; sifting; sifts

transitive verb

1
a
: to put through a sieve
sift flour
b
: to separate or separate out by or as if by putting through a sieve
2
: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable
sifted the evidence
often used with through
sift through a pile of old letters
3
: to scatter by or as if by sifting
sift sugar on a cake

intransitive verb

1
: to use a sieve
2
: to pass or fall as if through a sieve
sifter noun

Examples of sift in a Sentence

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Sift the lumps from the sugar. The police sifted the evidence in hopes of finding a clue. The police sifted for clues. The lawyer sifted through the hundreds of pages of testimony. Firefighters sifted through the debris.
Recent Examples on the Web Scientists aboard a research vessel off the coast of Spain sifted through the rubble dumped from a trawling net. Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 Investigators sifted through Boyer’s online life and found communications — from 2016 to 2019 — between him and people who’d advertised to rehouse their pets. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, sift powdered sugar and flour together 3 times; set aside. Andrea Beck, Better Homes & Gardens, 27 Feb. 2024 Imagine using advanced algorithms to swiftly sift through scores of potential candidates, identifying the perfect matches based not just on their abilities and experience, but even their cultural fit within the company. Sanjay Bhatia, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Adults sift through the dust and rubble for anything worth salvaging. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 14 Feb. 2024 Public works staff spent hours sifting through piles of recyclables before finally finding the tiny sparkler A South Carolina woman has been reunited with a treasured item. Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 31 Jan. 2024 Anna sifted through testing notes and pulled from her personal experience testing the luggage to put together this list of the best July luggage. Anna Popp, Travel + Leisure, 30 Jan. 2024 After four days of rain, the skies were clearing Wednesday morning, leaving officials and property owners to sift through damage from nearly 500 landslides in Los Angeles County alone. Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 8 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sift.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English siftan; akin to Old English sife sieve

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sift was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near sift

Cite this Entry

“Sift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sift. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sift

verb
1
a
: to put through a sieve
sift flour
b
: to separate or separate out by or as if by putting through a sieve
2
: to go through especially to sort out what is useful or valuable
sift evidence
sift through a pile of papers
sifter noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sift

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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