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

Idaho State Police, with assistance from local authorities, as well as search and rescue groups, excavated the backyard over several days — starting in a small spot near the fence line, and eventually removing and sifting dirt from the entire area. —Alex Brizee march 5, Idaho Statesman, 6 Mar. 2026

The economists sifted through individual-level data on mortgages and consumption and gauged changes in borrowing based on the effect of rate reductions on boosting asset prices. —Malcolm Scott, Bloomberg, 4 Mar. 2026

In the Gaza Strip, for example, the Israel Defense Forces have deployed AI tools such as The Gospel and Lavender to automatically sift through vast surveillance data and generate daily lists of bombing targets for analysts to review and act upon. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 3 Mar. 2026

In the early nineties, Larry Cornman developed a program that could sift through some of that sensor data to measure the air’s turbulence in real time. —Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 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