sift

verb

ˈsift 

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

Previously, a human team would have had to sift through Walgreens' rich network of store, pharmacy and health care transactions to identify patient insights that could be relevant for clinical trials. —Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 May 2025

This can also reduce burnout and boost team morale as professionals spend more time addressing real threats rather than sifting through noise. —Sudheer Kotilingala, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025

May 2, 2025 The Irish comedian Graham Norton remembers sifting through Manhattan real estate listings a couple of decades ago and being struck by the photos of a charming carriage house nestled in a tiny gated mews in Murray Hill. —Vivian Marino, New York Times, 2 May 2025

By sifting through that vast dataset, the team found 2,889 likely superflares on 2,527 sunlike stars. —Phil Plait, Scientific American, 1 May 2025

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

Rhymes for sift

• clift
• drift
• gift
• lift
• miffed
• rift
• shift
• shrift
• sniffed
• thrift
• tift
• adrift

Kids Definition

sift

verb

ˈsift 

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