sift
/sɪft/ verb C1- To sieve or strain (something).
- To separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving.
- [with through] To carefully go through a set of objects, or a collection of information, in order to find something.
- To move data records up in memory to make space to insert further records.
He/she/it sifts · Past sifted · Past participle sifted · -ing form sifting
Verb forms
- Base form
- sift
- He/she/it
- sifts
- Past
- sifted
- Past participle
- sifted
- -ing form
- sifting
From the library
Bell’s woods, where the light came down sifted through so many emerald screens that it was as flawless as the heart of a diamond.
These, then, had to be sifted and balanced against each other.
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