sift

verb \ ˈsift \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of sift

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

See sift defined for English-language learners

See sift defined for kids

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 of sift from the Web

After sifting through mountains of Xbox flotsam and jetsam, Van Cleave talked the recyclers into letting him take home five motherboards.

— brendan i. koerner, WIRED, "The Young and the Reckless," 17 Apr. 2018
What’s new is the rising sophistication of the efforts – as the volume of data on individuals soars alongside the ability of software to sift and make use of that data.

— laurent belsie, The Christian Science Monitor, "Facebook uproar: Should personal data drive political ads?," 21 Mar. 2018
Proving that pedigree is currently a painstaking and long process often done by hand, sifting through paper documents and receipts, and is often inconclusive.

— molly schuetz, Bloomberg.com, "Startup Codex Brings Blockchain to Art With Backing From Pantera," 28 Feb. 2018
Friends of Steele said his comment was not driven by political bias, but by his alarm after sifting through months of reports about Trump’s ties to Russia.

— tom hamburger, Washington Post, "Hero or hired gun? How a British former spy became a flash point in the Russia investigation.," 6 Feb. 2018
After sifting through a number of different feather photos, both DePriest and her client agreed this combo would stand out the most while still looking realistic.

— wendy sy, Allure, "This Peekaboo Dye Job Was Inspired by the Feather of a Red-Tailed Hawk," 2 Apr. 2018
But that’s a lot of hard work, and a lot of sifting through some truly dreadful at-bats to find the gold.

— jon tayler, SI.com, "Yankees? Yes! Angels? Sure! Tigers? No! Ranking the Watchability of Every MLB Team This Season," 2 Apr. 2018
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is actively soliciting companies to assist in sifting through the resulting data, although no vendor has been publicly chosen to implement it.

— russell brandom, The Verge, "US rolls out more aggressive social media screening for non-citizens at border," 29 Mar. 2018
In 2017, scientists created an Alzheimer’s test by sifting through data from 70,000 seniors and zooming in on 31 genetic markers associated with the disease.

— chelsea leu, WIRED, "How Science Is Solving Health Issues at All Stages of Life," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sift.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sift

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

SIFT Defined for English Language Learners

sift

verb

Definition of sift for English Language Learners

: to put (flour, sugar, etc.) through a sifter or sieve
: to separate or remove (something) by using a sifter or sieve
: to go through (something) very carefully in order to find something useful or valuable

SIFT Defined for Kids

sift

verb \ ˈsift \

Definition of sift for Students

sifted; sifting

1 : to pass or cause to pass through a sieve

sift flour

2 : to separate or separate out by or as if by passing through a sieve

I sifted the lumps.

3 : to test or examine carefully

Police will sift through the evidence.

—

sifter

noun

Learn More about sift

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