Sift — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

move as if through a sieve

separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/sˈɪft/

🇬🇧British English

/sˈɪft/

🇮🇳Indian English

/sˈɪft/

1 syllable Say it as /sˈɪft/.

Examples

The soldiers sifted through the woods
sift the flour
sift the information

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

strain sieve

Parts of Speech

verb	move as if through a sieve “The soldiers sifted through the woods”
verb	separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements “sift the flour”
verb	check and sort carefully “sift the information”
verb	distinguish and separate out “sift through the job candidates”

Word Forms

sifter	noun	a household sieve (as for flour)
sifting	noun	the act of separating grain from chaff
sieve	noun	a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles
strainer	noun	a filter to retain larger pieces while smaller pieces and liquids pass through

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

sieben

wie durch ein Sieb bewegen

🇫🇷French

tamiser

se déplacer comme à travers un tamis

🇪🇸Spanish

tamizar a

moverse como a través de un colador

🇮🇹Italian

vagliare

passare come attraverso un setaccio

🇳🇱Dutch

ziften

bewegen alsof het door een zeef gaat

🇵🇹Portuguese

peneirar

mova-se como se fosse uma peneira

🇷🇺Russian

просеять

двигаться как сквозь решето

India

🇮🇳Hindi

छान-बीन करना

ऐसे हिलाओ मानो छलनी से छान रही हो

🇧🇩Bengali

চালনা

একটি চালুনি মাধ্যমে যদি না সরান

🇮🇳Tamil

சல்லடை

ஒரு சல்லடை வழியாக நகர்த்தவும்

🇮🇳Telugu

జల్లెడ

ఒక జల్లెడ ద్వారా తరలించు

🇮🇳Marathi

चाळणे

चाळणीतून हलवा

🇮🇳Gujarati

ચાળવું

એક ચાળણી દ્વારા ખસેડો

🇮🇳Kannada

ಶೋಧಿಸಿ

ಒಂದು ಜರಡಿ ಮೂಲಕ ಚಲಿಸುವಂತೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

അരിച്ചുപെറുക്കുക

ഒരു അരിപ്പയിലൂടെ എന്നപോലെ നീങ്ങുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਛਾਣਨਾ

ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਿ ਇੱਕ ਸਿਈਵੀ ਦੁਆਰਾ ਹਿਲਾਓ

🇵🇰Urdu

چھاننا

ایک چھلنی کے ذریعے کے طور پر منتقل

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

筛

就像通过筛子一样移动

🇯🇵Japanese

ふるいにかけます

ふるいを通しているかのように動く

🇰🇷Korean

체로 치다

마치 체를 통과하듯이 움직이다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

sàng lọc

di chuyển như thể qua một cái sàng

🇹🇭Thai

ร่อน

เคลื่อนไหวราวกับผ่านตะแกรง

🇮🇩Indonesian

menyaring

bergerak seolah-olah melalui saringan

🇵🇭Filipino

salain

gumalaw na parang sa pamamagitan ng salaan

🇲🇾Malay

ayak

bergerak seolah-olah melalui penapis

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

نخل

التحرك كما لو كان من خلال منخل

🇮🇷Persian

الک کردن

طوری حرکت کنید که انگار از غربال عبور کنید

🇹🇷Turkish

elemek

sanki bir elekten geçiyormuş gibi hareket et

🇮🇱Hebrew

לְנַפּוֹת

לנוע כאילו דרך מסננת

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'sift'?

The primary meaning of 'sift' is 'move as if through a sieve'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'sift' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'sift' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'sift' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'sift' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'sift' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'sift' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'sift' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'sift' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'sift' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'sift' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted