sift


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

sift

 (sĭft)
v. sift·ed, sift·ing, sifts
v.tr.
1. To put (flour, for example) through a sieve in order to separate the fine from the coarse particles.
2. To distinguish as if separating with a sieve: sifted the candidates for the job.
3. To apply by scattering through a sieve: sift sugar on a dessert.
4. To examine and sort carefully: sift the evidence.
v.intr.
1. To make use of a sieve.
2. To pass through a sieve: a meal that sifts easily.
3. To make a careful examination: sifted through back issues of the magazine.

[Middle English siften, from Old English siftan.]

sift′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sift

(sɪft)
vb
1. (tr) to sieve (sand, flour, etc) in order to remove the coarser particles
2. to scatter (something) over a surface through a sieve
3. (tr) to separate with or as if with a sieve; distinguish between
4. (tr) to examine minutely: to sift evidence.
5. (intr) to move as if through a sieve
[Old English siftan; related to Middle Low German siften to sift, Dutch ziften; see sieve]
ˈsifter n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sift

(sɪft)

v.t.
1. to separate and retain the coarse parts of (flour, ashes, etc.) with a sieve.
2. to scatter by means of a sieve: to sift sugar onto a cake.
3. to separate by or as if by a sieve.
4. to examine closely: The detectives are sifting the evidence.
v.i.
5. to sift something.
6. to pass or fall through or as if through a sieve.
[before 900; Old English siftan akin to sieve]
sift′er, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

sift


Past participle: sifted
Gerund: sifting

Imperative
sift
sift
Present
I sift
you sift
he/she/it sifts
we sift
you sift
they sift
Preterite
I sifted
you sifted
he/she/it sifted
we sifted
you sifted
they sifted
Present Continuous
I am sifting
you are sifting
he/she/it is sifting
we are sifting
you are sifting
they are sifting
Present Perfect
I have sifted
you have sifted
he/she/it has sifted
we have sifted
you have sifted
they have sifted
Past Continuous
I was sifting
you were sifting
he/she/it was sifting
we were sifting
you were sifting
they were sifting
Past Perfect
I had sifted
you had sifted
he/she/it had sifted
we had sifted
you had sifted
they had sifted
Future
I will sift
you will sift
he/she/it will sift
we will sift
you will sift
they will sift
Future Perfect
I will have sifted
you will have sifted
he/she/it will have sifted
we will have sifted
you will have sifted
they will have sifted
Future Continuous
I will be sifting
you will be sifting
he/she/it will be sifting
we will be sifting
you will be sifting
they will be sifting
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been sifting
you have been sifting
he/she/it has been sifting
we have been sifting
you have been sifting
they have been sifting
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been sifting
you will have been sifting
he/she/it will have been sifting
we will have been sifting
you will have been sifting
they will have been sifting
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been sifting
you had been sifting
he/she/it had been sifting
we had been sifting
you had been sifting
they had been sifting
Conditional
I would sift
you would sift
he/she/it would sift
we would sift
you would sift
they would sift
Past Conditional
I would have sifted
you would have sifted
he/she/it would have sifted
we would have sifted
you would have sifted
they would have sifted
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

sift

To remove lumps from or thoroughly mix ingredients by passing them through a sieve.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.sift - move as if through a sieve; "The soldiers sifted through the woods"
go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast"
2.sift - separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"
separate - divide into components or constituents; "Separate the wheat from the chaff"
rice - sieve so that it becomes the consistency of rice; "rice the potatoes"
resift - sift anew
riddle, screen - separate with a riddle, as grain from chaff
winnow, fan - separate the chaff from by using air currents; "She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field"
3.sift - check and sort carefully; "sift the information"
analyse, analyze, examine, study, canvass, canvas - consider in detail and subject to an analysis in order to discover essential features or meaning; "analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare"; "analyze the evidence in a criminal trial"; "analyze your real motives"
4.sift - distinguish and separate out; "sift through the job candidates"
choose, pick out, select, take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

sift

verb
1. part, filter, strain, separate, pan, bolt, riddle, sieve Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. examine, investigate, go through, research, screen, probe, analyse, work over, pore over, scrutinize He has sifted the evidence and summarised it clearly.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

sift

verb
To set apart (one kind or type) from others:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
يَفْحَص بِعِنايَهيُنَخِّل، يُغَرْبِل
prošetřitprosít
sigte
seuloasiivilöidätutkia
grannskoîasigta
išsijoti
izanalizētizpētītizsijātsijāt
presejati
dikkatle incelemekelekten geçirmekelemek

sift

[sɪft]
A. VT [+ flour, soil] → cerner, tamizar
B. VI to sift through (fig) → examinar cuidadosamente
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sift

[ˈsɪft] vt
[+ flour, icing sugar, sand] → tamiser
[+ evidence] → passer au crible
sift through
vt fus [+ evidence, data] → passer au crible
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sift

vt
(lit)sieben; coalschütteln; sift the sugar onto the cakeden Kuchen mit Zucker besieben
(fig: = search) → sichten, durchgehen; (= separate)trennen
vi (fig)sieben; to sift through the evidencedas Beweismaterial durchgehen; a sifting processein Siebeverfahren nt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sift

[sɪft]
1. vt (flour, sand) → setacciare; (coal) → passare al crivello (fig) (evidence) → vagliare
to sift out (truth) → separare
2. vi (fig) to sift throughesaminare minuziosamente; (statement, evidence) → vagliare accuratamente
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

sift

(sift) verb
1. to separate by passing through a sieve etc. Sift the flour before making the cake.
2. to examine closely. He sifted the evidence carefully.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
And, with this eternal lesson written in your soul, do you ask me to sift new wisdom for you out of my petty existence of two or three centuries?"
We must sift this clear somehow," and he sighed to himself, for he believed in his "Shikarris," did the Colonel.
famished upon the sifted meal and distilled water of a prudish purveyance.
We have carefully sifted the statement he has addressed to us; and here it is at your service.
This was because all who began to grow depressed or who lost strength were sifted out of the army day by day.
"If the story of such a girl were thoroughly sifted, you would find she had abandoned a family--her own or a sister's, where she might have found a woman's duties," Darya Alexandrovna broke in unexpectedly in a tone of exasperation, probably suspecting what sort of girl Stepan Arkadyevitch was thinking of.
The composition of a speech was for him a matter of a few hours; with almost preternatural mental activity he organized and sifted the material, commonly as he paced up and down his garden or his room; then, the whole ready, nearly verbatim, in his mind, he would pass to the House of Commons to hold his colleagues spell-bound during several hours of fervid eloquence.
The meal sifted out and made a little track all the way to the lake.
"Marry, it has been dusted enough already," replied Robin; "and I now believe the Scripture saying that all men are but dust, for it has sifted me through and through and lined my gullet an inch deep.
California [United States], October 25 ( ANI ): It is well-known Facebook uses a mix of technology and human reviewers to sift out abusive content from its platform.
As he wraps up his own work-day he shows me what he has been able to collect: "I've found many pieces of gold-like metal and now I'll go home and sift through this in a special bowl and add acid to the mix."
Netskope, a cloud-security provider, has said that it has acquired Sift Security (Sift), a provider of next-generation cloud infrastructure security.