How to use sift in a sentence

19 example sentences · verb, noun

Sift means to sieve or strain (something). Example: “Coarsely milled maize is termed cornmeal, but when finely milled and sifted it is called corn flour.”

Examples of sift by meaning

verbTo scrutinize (someone or something) carefully so as to find the truth.

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
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

verb[with through] To carefully go through a set of objects, or a collection of information, in order to find something.

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...
Officers spend thousands of hours sifting through potentially offensive posts and arrest 30 people a day.2025 May 15, “Europe’s free-speech problem”, in The Economist

More sentences with sift

Coarsely milled maize is termed cornmeal, but when finely milled and sifted it is called corn flour.From the entry milled
The recipe called for sifted flour so it would be fluffier.From the entry sifted
A bit of unground wheat in flour can really hurt when you bite it: another reason to sift.From the entry unground
Besides, a little judicious eavesdropping might sift out a useful nugget or two.2005, Timothy Zahn, Night Train to Rigel, →ISBN, page 159. From the entry sift out
Inside the atmosphere was rank and caliginous: fumes rose from puddles, groans sifted through the shadows.1981, T[homas] Coraghessan Boyle, “The Niger”, in Water Music, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, →ISBN; republished London: Granta Books…. From the entry caliginous
Nocake was made of selected Indian corn, parched in hot ashes, then well sifted and thoroughly pulverized.1920 November 1, George S. Bryan, “Good Eating in Puritan Days”, in The Mentor, volume 8, number 17 (number 213 overall), New York, N.Y.…. From the entry nocake
Moreover, Caillette experienced a superior sadness, sifted through years of infestivity and gloom.1903, Frederic Stewart Isham, Under the Rose (2009 reprint), p. 70. From the entry infestivity
The unfolding narrative often exposes a disciple's uneven progress, striving to sift out authentic guides from their counterfeits.2006, Vernon Ruland, Living Out the Questions: A Jesuit Confession, →ISBN, page 125. From the entry sift out
In the little houses the tenant people sifted their belongings and the belongings of their fathers and of their grandfathers.1939 April 14, John Steinbeck, chapter 9, in The Grapes of Wrath, New York, N.Y.: The Viking Press, →OCLC, page 88. From the entry belonging
Sift a small quantity of the dust on to a semiglazed white paper about 8 by 10 inches.1921, United States. Department of the Treasury, Treasury Decisions Under Customs and Other Laws. From the entry semiglazed
After digging up the anthills, they crush the soil, sift it and then cart it to their fields by oxdrawn carts or wheel barrows.2019 December 6, Elliott Siamonga, “Input prices derail cropping season preparations”, in The Chronicle, →OCLC, archived from the original…. From the entry oxdrawn
He found her walking slowly up and down an allee of elms, through the leaves of which the bright September sunshine sifted down.1903, Carter Goodloe, Calvert of Strathore. From the entry allee
A silver or porcelain bowl on a side table, where guests can sift the scented flower fragments through their fingers, is an irresistible reminder of luxuries past.1978, House & Garden, House & Garden, Conde Nast Publications, page 88. From the entry ultradeluxe
Caldwell’s effects, to ascertain if there is any clew to a motive either for suicide or murder—sift the thing to the bottom.” “Aye, aye, sir!” responded Mr.1913 June–December, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Wreck of the ‘Lady Alice’”, in The Return of Tarzan, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert] L[evi] Burt…. From the entry aye aye, sir
Two packets of choice Russian Violet seed were then sown in friable soil, well sifted, and made rich with a bottom layer of old cow manure.1904, Sarah Warner Brooks, A Garden with House Attached, page 70. From the entry Russian violet

Meaning of sift

verb To sieve or strain (something).
verb To separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving.
verb To scrutinize (someone or something) carefully so as to find the truth.

Full definition of sift

Questions about sift in a sentence

How do you use sift in a sentence?: Sift is used as a verb and noun. For example: “Coarsely milled maize is termed cornmeal, but when finely milled and sifted it is called corn flour.”
What is a short sentence with sift?: “The recipe called for sifted flour so it would be fluffier.”
What does sift mean?: Sift means to sieve or strain (something).

Adapted from Wiktionary: sift (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use sift in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/sift. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.