sift

C2 Topic:Cooking & Baking

US /sɪft/ UK /sɪft/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like shift /s/ vs /ʃ/

Freq #29982

Meanings

1

verb
to pass a dry substance through a sieve in order to remove lumps or separate particles

Sift the flour into the bowl before adding the butter.
2

verb
to examine information, objects, or evidence carefully in order to separate what is useful or true

Investigators sifted the records for evidence of the missing payment.
3

verb
to fall, scatter, or move through openings in a fine, light stream

Powdery snow sifted through the branches in the morning sun.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with sift

sift through Prepositional verb C2

to examine a collection carefully to find useful or suitable items

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to pass a dry substance... sieve screen strain

2 verb · to examine information,... sort throughscrutinize filter

3 verb · to fall, scatter, or move... filter drift sprinkle

Opposites

combinemix indiscriminately

Word family

Forms siftedsifting

Derived forms siftersiftablepresiftresift

Related forms sieve filter sort

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sift through
to examine a collection carefully to find useful or suitable items

Verb + preposition/particle

Tongue twisters (1)

See all

Sift the Thistles
Fill the sieve with thistles, then sift the thistles in the sieve.

Contrast /θ/ at the start of thistles with /s/ in sieve and sift. The written t in thistles is silent; sieve rhymes with give.

Etymology

From Middle English syften and Old English siftan, inherited from a West Germanic verb associated with sieves and separation. The physical action of separating particles produced the figurative sense of examining evidence or information carefully.

Topics

Cooking & Baking Actions & Processes

External links

# sift

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /sɪft/
**IPA (UK):** /sɪft/
**Frequency rank:** 29982

## Meanings
1. to pass a dry substance through a sieve in order to remove lumps or separate particles
2. to examine information, objects, or evidence carefully in order to separate what is useful or true
3. to fall, scatter, or move through openings in a fine, light stream

## Examples
- Sift the flour into the bowl before adding the butter.
- Investigators sifted the records for evidence of the missing payment.
- Powdery snow sifted through the branches in the morning sun.

## Synonyms
- sieve
- screen
- strain
- sort through
- scrutinize
- filter

## Antonyms
- combine
- mix indiscriminately

## Derived Forms
- sifter
- siftable
- presift
- resift

## Related Forms
- sieve
- filter
- sort

## Etymology
From Middle English syften and Old English siftan, inherited from a West Germanic verb associated with sieves and separation. The physical action of separating particles produced the figurative sense of examining evidence or information carefully.

## Topics
- Cooking & Baking
- Actions & Processes

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