sieve

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a utensil with a mesh or perforated bottom used to separate fine particles from coarse ones

   She shook the flour through a sieve to remove the remaining lumps.

2. 2
   verb

   to pass a substance through a sieve in order to separate or grade its particles

   The workers sieve the dry soil before examining it for small artifacts.

3. 3
   verb

   to examine or filter a large amount of material carefully

   Investigators must sieve the reports for details that can be independently verified.

Common collocations

• sieve tube Noun + noun

From Middle English sive or syfe, from Old English sife, related to Dutch zeef and German Sieb. The Germanic word is commonly traced to an Indo-European root meaning 'to pour, sift, or drip.'

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images