Dictionary

sift en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /sɪft/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan.

Meanings

1. An act of sifting.

Forms

sift en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /sɪft/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To sieve or strain (something).
2. (transitive) To separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving.
3. (archaic, dated, transitive) To examine (something) carefully. ▸ To scrutinize (someone or something) carefully so as to find the truth.
   • As neere as I could ſift him on that argument, On ſome apparant danger ſeene in him, Aym‘d at your Highneſſe, no inueterate malice. 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 23, column 1:
   • “I fear that there is something more serious than accident here, Mr. Brently,” said the captain. “I wish that you would make a personal and very careful examination of Mr. Caldwell’s effects, to ascertain if there is any clew to a motive either for suicide or murder—sift the thing to the bottom.” 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 108:
   • But if we still carry on our sifting humour, and ask, What is the foundation of all conclusions from experience ? this implies a new question. 1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral, London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 28:
   • Never, he said, in the course of his long experience, had he known a charge of murder rest on slighter evidence. Not only was it entirely circumstantial, but the greater part of it was practically unproved. Let them take the testimony they had heard and sift it impartially. 1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 162:
   • It immediately occurred to him to sift her on the subject of Isabella and Theodore. 1764, Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto, Strawberry Hill Press:
4. (transitive) To examine (something) carefully. ▸ [with through] To carefully go through a set of objects, or a collection of information, in order to find something.
   • Britain’s police are especially zealous. Officers spend thousands of hours sifting through potentially offensive posts and arrest 30 people a day. Among those collared were a man who ranted about immigration on Facebook and a couple who criticised their daughter’s primary school. 2025 May 15, “Europe’s free-speech problem”, in The Economist:
   • Sifting through the work of great orators like Philostratus and Quintilian they identify numerous examples of classical irony, metaphor, comparison, etc. which are missing in Paul. 1996, Timothy B. Savage, Power Through Weakness: Paul's Understanding of the Christian Ministry in 2 Corinthians, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, page 70:
5. (dated, transitive) To move data records up in memory to make space to insert further records.

Forms

Deriveds

siftproof · resift · sift out · sift through · siftingly · outsift · presift · siftage · siftability · siftable · sifter

Translations (113)

haw kānana (to sieve or strain (something)) · uk просі́яти (to sieve or strain (something)) · fy siften (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · es examinar minuciosamente (to examine (something) carefully) · as চালা (to sieve or strain (something)) · fa بیختن (to sieve or strain (something)) · pl przesiewać (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · th กลั่นกรอง (to examine (something) carefully) · fi siivilöidä (to sieve or strain (something)) · cmn 篩 /筛 (to sieve or strain (something)) · pl odsiać (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · fi sirotella (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · eo kribri (to sieve or strain (something)) · fur tamesâ (to sieve or strain (something)) · th ไตร่ตรอง (to examine (something) carefully) · ro cerne (to sieve or strain (something)) · ms ayak (to sieve or strain (something)) · pl arfować (to sieve or strain (something)) · pt cindir (to sieve or strain (something)) · te గాలించు (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · it esaminare minuziosamente (to examine (something) carefully) · hy մաղել (to sieve or strain (something)) · oc tamisar (to sieve or strain (something)) · pl odsiewać (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · wa tamjhî (to sieve or strain (something)) · te గాలించు (to sieve or strain (something)) · de sieben (to sieve or strain (something)) · fi tutkia (to examine (something) carefully) · fy sift (to sieve or strain (something)) · fy souje (to examine (something) carefully) · pl przesiać (to sieve or strain (something)) · cy gogrynu (to sieve or strain (something)) · enm syften (to sieve or strain (something)) · pt discernir (to sieve or strain (something)) · wa raidjî (to sieve or strain (something)) · fi seuloa (to examine (something) carefully) · th กรอง (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · fi siivilöidä (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · oc cernir (to sieve or strain (something)) · fi seuloa (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · izh seegloa (to sieve or strain (something)) · enm temsen (to sieve or strain (something)) · de sichten (to examine (something) carefully) · pl przearfować (to sieve or strain (something)) · th ร่อน (to sieve or strain (something)) · it setacciare (to examine (something) carefully) · es tamizar (to sieve or strain (something)) · fr passer (to sieve or strain (something)) · es cernir (to sieve or strain (something)) · th กรอง (to sieve or strain (something)) · es harnear (to sieve or strain (something)) · ru отсе́ивать (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · pl przesiewać (to sieve or strain (something)) · nrf craînchi (to sieve or strain (something)) · es acribar (to sieve or strain (something)) · pt examinar minuciosamente (to examine (something) carefully) · ro cerne (to examine (something) carefully) · tl salain (to sieve or strain (something)) · hu szitál (to sieve or strain (something)) · wa passer (to sieve or strain (something)) · izh seeglata (to sieve or strain (something)) · es ahechar (to sieve or strain (something)) · pt discernir (to examine (something) carefully) · rup ntsernu (to sieve or strain (something)) · haw kālana (to sieve or strain (something)) · nl ziften (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · pms valé (to sieve or strain (something)) · it setacciare (to sieve or strain (something)) · la cernō (to examine (something) carefully) · nb gjennomgå (to examine (something) carefully) · nl ziften (to examine (something) carefully) · rar rūrū (to sieve or strain (something)) · oc sedaçar (to sieve or strain (something)) · pt peneirar (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · fur trivelâ (to sieve or strain (something)) · chr ᎬᎫᏍᏗᎭ (to sieve or strain (something)) · tr kalburlamak (to sieve or strain (something)) · ru отсе́ять (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · pl przesiać (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · sv granska (to examine (something) carefully) · yue 篩 /筛 (to sieve or strain (something)) · it discernere (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · bg пресявам (to sieve or strain (something)) · bg разглеждам щателно (to examine (something) carefully) · de sieben (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · as চলা (to sieve or strain (something)) · th วินิจฉัย (to examine (something) carefully) · ru просе́ять (to sieve or strain (something)) · ca cerndre (to sieve or strain (something)) · cy gogru (to sieve or strain (something)) · cmn 過濾 /过滤 (to sieve or strain (something)) · it vagliare (to sieve or strain (something)) · nl zeven (to examine (something) carefully) · cmn 濾 /滤 (to sieve or strain (something)) · ga criathraigh (to sieve or strain (something)) · uk просі́ювати (to sieve or strain (something)) · es cerner (to sieve or strain (something)) · la cribrō (to sieve or strain (something)) · fr tamiser (to sieve or strain (something)) · fr disséminer (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · bg отсявам (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · ru просе́ивать (to sieve or strain (something)) · sv sikta (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · es cribar (to sieve or strain (something)) · ga rill (to sieve or strain (something)) · fi sirottaa (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · nl ziften (to sieve or strain (something)) · fr éparpiller (to separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving) · de durchgehen (to examine (something) carefully) · te గాలించు (to examine (something) carefully) · fi seuloa (to sieve or strain (something)) · ota قلبورلامق (to sieve or strain (something)) · izh siivitä (to sieve or strain (something))