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sieve

Pronunciation: /sɪv/

Translate sieve | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of sieve

noun

  • a utensil consisting of a wire or plastic mesh held in a frame, used for straining solids from liquids, for separating coarser from finer particles, or for reducing soft solids to a pulp: purée the potatoes through a sieve rinse the lentils in a sieve under running water
  • used figuratively with reference to the fact that a sieve does not hold all its contents:she’s forgotten all the details already, she’s got a mind like a sieve

verb

[with object]
  • put (a food substance or other material) through a sieve: sieve the flour and sugar together in a bowl (as adjective sieved)dredge with sieved icing sugar
  • (usually sieve something out) remove (unwanted items):filters sieve large particles out of the water to prevent them from harming the pumps
  • [no object] (sieve through) examine in detail:lawyers had sieved through her contract

Derivatives

sieve-like

adjective

Origin:

Old English sife (noun), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeef and German Sieb

Spelling help

Remember that sieve is spelled with sie- at the beginning.

sieve in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of sieve in the US English dictionary

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