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

The White House is sifting through thousands of clemency requests, including a pardon bid by Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang, who was convicted over the collapse of his $36 billion family office. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026

Research communities have always had to sift out some junk on preprint servers, but this practice makes sense only when the signal-to-noise ratio is high. —Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026

Trump kicked off the press briefing by sifting through dozens of mug shots of undocumented immigrants whom his administration has arrested and targeted for deportation. —Ana Ceballos, Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026

But after sifting through soot on the floor, Shemper could not find it. —Jason Carroll, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026

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