sieve

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: screenscreen outsortsiftstrain

WordNet 3.0

Noun (1)

  1. a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particlesSynonyms: screen

Verb (4)

  1. examine in order to test suitability“screen these samples”“screen the job applicants”Synonyms: screenscreen outsort
  2. check and sort carefully“sift the information”Synonyms: sift
  3. separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements“sift the flour”Synonyms: siftstrain
  4. distinguish and separate out“sift through the job candidates”Synonyms: sift
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Sieve \Sieve\, n. [OE. sive, AS. sife; akin to D. zeef, zift, OHG. sib, G. sieb. [root]151a. Cf. Sift.]

1.A utensil for separating the finer and coarser parts of a pulverized or granulated substance from each other. It consist of a vessel, usually shallow, with the bottom perforated, or made of hair, wire, or the like, woven in meshes. "In a sieve thrown and sifted." --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2.A kind of coarse basket. --Simmonds. [1913 Webster]

Sieve cells (Bot.), cribriform cells. See under Cribriform. [1913 Webster]

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