sift

[ sift ]

/ sɪft /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sift 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.

Origin of sift

before 900; Middle English siften, Old English siftan; cognate with Dutch, Middle Low German siften; akin to sieve

SYNONYMS FOR sift

4 sort, scrutinize, inspect, search, probe.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR sift ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM sift

out·sift, verb (used with object) pre·sift, verb (used with object) re·sift, verb (used with object) un·sift·ed, adjective

Words nearby sift

sievert, sieyès, sif, sifaka, sifnos, sift, sifter, siftings, sig, sig., siganid

Example sentences from the Web for sifting

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 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
He spent months sifting through and cataloging this unexpected cache.

Edmund Morris Interviewed on Colonel Roosevelt |Sandra McElwaine |November 19, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

After two weeks sifting through over one thousand pages of SEC filings for the largest banks, I have the same concerns.

Worse Than Enron? |Nomi Prins |December 1, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
Sow thinly, and then cover the seed by sifting over with fine soil from 1/8 to inch deep.

Gardening for Little Girls |Olive Hyde Foster
After a good deal of sifting, the following facts were accepted as the best version of what must have taken place.

Chatterbox, 1906 |Various
The air was so filled with sifting sand and eddying dust that it was impossible to see a mounted man at a distance of fifty yards.

The Outlet |Andy Adams
He was returning to the sifting of the letters when the bell of the apartment rang.

To Him That Hath |Leroy Scott
According to this logic, thought deals with abstractions, concepts drawn out of things by a sifting process.

Instigations |Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for sifting

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 minutely to 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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sift

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of sift

SYNONYMS FOR sift

OTHER WORDS FROM sift

Words nearby sift

Example sentences from the Web for sifting

British Dictionary definitions for sifting

verb

Derived forms of sift

Word Origin for sift

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

sift

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Origin of sift

SYNONYMS FOR sift

OTHER WORDS FROM sift

Words nearby sift

Words related to sifting

Example sentences from the Web for sifting

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for sifting

verb

Derived forms of sift

Word Origin for sift

British Dictionary definitions for sifting