: a device with meshes or perforations through which finer particles of a mixture (as of ashes, flour, or sand) of various sizes may be passed to separate them from coarser ones, through which the liquid may be drained from liquid-containing material, or through which soft materials may be forced for reduction to fine particles
Examples of sieve in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 July 2025
The kick coverage has been a sieve for the past four years.
—Matt Barrows, New York Times, 18 June 2025
Kristi Curry Rogers, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024
But to the surprise of the researchers, not only did the 2-D membranes sieve out the deuterons, but the separation was also accomplished with a high degree of efficiency.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Jan. 2016
See All Example Sentences for sieve
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Strain through a sieve, reserving the liquid and discarding the apples.
—Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 July 2025
The kick coverage has been a sieve for the past four years.
—Matt Barrows, New York Times, 18 June 2025
Verb
Our students have spent hundreds of hours focusing on the fossils retrieved after sieving.
—Kristi Curry Rogers, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024
But to the surprise of the researchers, not only did the 2-D membranes sieve out the deuterons, but the separation was also accomplished with a high degree of efficiency.
—IEEE Spectrum, 5 Jan. 2016
See All Example Sentences for sieve
Cite this Entry
“Sieve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sieve. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share