sifted; sifting; sifts
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 throughsift through a pile of old letters
3
: to scatter by or as if by sifting
sift sugar on a cake
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
The film stars Amy Adams, Murray Bartlett, and Brett Goldstein, with Oscar-nominee Adams as a woman returning to her family’s beach home post-rehab to sift through the pieces of her former life.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Dec. 2025
But for anyone who sifts through huge quantities of television, The Abandons embodies everything that’s frustrating about the medium right now.
—Judy Berman, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
But sifting through all the possible ways to think about the show is far more satisfying than, say, learning who is behind Red Ball Market Global.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Holiday hustlers will appreciate that this lighting kit can be wirelessly controlled via app—meaning there’s no remote control to misplace or branches to sift through in search of a switch.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sift
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Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Dec. 2025
But for anyone who sifts through huge quantities of television, The Abandons embodies everything that’s frustrating about the medium right now.
—Judy Berman, Time, 4 Dec. 2025
But sifting through all the possible ways to think about the show is far more satisfying than, say, learning who is behind Red Ball Market Global.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Holiday hustlers will appreciate that this lighting kit can be wirelessly controlled via app—meaning there’s no remote control to misplace or branches to sift through in search of a switch.
—Julia Harrison, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sift
Cite this Entry
“Sift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sift. Accessed 6 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sift
verb1
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
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