I. ˈsift verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English siften, from Old English siftan; akin to Middle Low German siften to sift, Old English sife sieve — more at sieve
transitive verb
1.
a. : to put through a sifter or sieve or meshed material
sift flour
sifted through coarse screens to remove matter larger than the wheat kernels — Studies for Flour Salesmen
grinding granulated sugar and sifting through silk or nylon cloth — L.A.Wills
b. : to separate or separate out by putting through a sifter or sieve or meshed material
sift the fine grains from the coarse
— often used with out
sift out the powdered portion
2.
a. : to study or examine carefully and extract the good, essential, or desirable (as that which falls in a class) : screen
knowing where to get information is of little importance unless you know how to sift and evaluate it — Armed Forces Talk
offer, sift , and pass as many basic laws as came from the first two sessions — F.L.Paxson
sift the men who enter the armed forces
b. : to separate or separate out by a process of careful study or examination or by trial : winnow
sift propaganda from fact — Karl Baehr
sifting Ph.D. candidates who are a drain on faculty time — S.E.Harris
— often used with out
sift out the fact from the theory — C.I.Glacksberg
a training process which sifts out … the students with a natural aptitude in our direction — H.D.Gideonse
c. : to study or investigate thoroughly : probe
will sift this matter to the uttermost — Sir Walter Scott
sift a family pretty thoroughly before turning a … dog over to them — Arthur Mayse
d. : to subject to close questioning
multiplied his questions and sifted me thoroughly — Jonathan Swift
3. : to scatter by or as if by passing through a sieve
sift sugar on a cake
4. : to run one's fingers through
the barber was lifting and sifting her tresses — P.H.Newby
intransitive verb
1. : to use a sifter or sieve : do sifting
2. : to pass through or as if through a sifter or sieve or meshed material : sieve : filter
the flour sifted through
snow sifting in around the sashes — Dixon Wecter
men sifted in along the border — Oscar Handlin
bags sewn with a close stitch to minimize sifting
3.
a. : to study or examine something carefully and extract from it the good, essential, or desirable (as something that falls in a class) : screen
in working through the documents he was constantly sifting
b. : to separate something out by sifting : winnow : select
in all his people … he is sifting until he comes down to the infinitesimal deposit of humanity — V.S.Pritchett
c. : to study or investigate something thoroughly : probe
the mind unwilling to be rushed to conclusions, the sifting, scientific mind — H.A.Overstreet
— compare sieve
•
- sift through
II. noun
( -s )
: that which is sifted
acres … when their toughness is reduced by winter frosts to a rich sift , as of molehills — Adrian Bell