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

After sifting through sections on heat waves, ice melt, agricultural impacts and other climate effects, Dessler said the final reply weighs in at a hefty 439 pages—about three times longer than the original report. —Jeff Young, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Sep. 2025

Interview transcripts, customer feedback, survey responses—what used to take hours or days to sift through can now be summarized and tagged in minutes. —Catherine Iger, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025

This is your moment to sift through the noise and find the lightning bolt of truth. —Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 29 Aug. 2025

With a monster that’s been enacting a reign of terror every 27 years for generations, there’s plenty of Pennywise backstory to sift through. —Lucy Ford, Time, 28 Aug. 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