WordGarden.iosieve
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /sˈɪv/
US
- /ˈsɪv/
Meanings
Noun
a mesh utensil or device used to separate finer material or strain something
Verb
to put something through a sieve to separate, strain, or smooth it
Beyond the definition
Imagine baking a cake and finding lumps in the flour. A sieve is the simple tool that helps: it has a mesh or a bottom full of small holes, so fine material can pass through while larger pieces stay behind. People use it to sift flour, wash rice, or strain seeds and bits from a liquid mixture.
The idea also appears outside the kitchen. Sand, stones, and soil can be sorted with sieves of different sizes. In everyday English, the word can suggest that something lets too much through. If someone says, "My memory is like a sieve," they mean they forget things very easily. The image is always the same: some things pass through, and some do not.
A sieve is a tool used to separate things by size. It usually has a frame with wire mesh or a surface full of small holes. When you pour or shake material through it, the smaller parts go through, and the larger parts stay behind. In daily life, you might use one to sift flour, rinse grains, drain cooked food, or remove seeds and lumps from a sauce or puree.
The word is also used more broadly for anything that works in a similar way. In gardening, building, and science, sieves sort sand, soil, stones, or other particles into groups by size. The basic idea stays the same in every case: it filters, separates, and leaves behind what does not fit through the openings.
English also uses the word in a figurative way. If a container, plan, or system is described as being "like a sieve," it means it has many holes or weaknesses and cannot hold things properly. Most commonly, people say someone has "a memory like a sieve," meaning they forget things quickly and let facts slip away. So the word can refer both to a real object in your hand and to the idea of something that lets too much pass through.
Examples
- 1
Baking tool
Pour the flour through a sieve so there are no lumps.
- 2
Baking action
She sieved cocoa powder over the top of the cake.
- 3
Investigating records
Detectives spent the weekend sieving through phone records for clues.
- Patternsieve through + information
examine a lot of information carefully to find what you need
- 4
Selection process
Job applications are often put through a first sieve before the interviews begin.
- Phrasea first sieve
a first stage that removes less suitable options
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Bad memory
I’d write it down if I were you because my memory is like a sieve.
- Phrasememory like a sieve
a very bad memory
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- sievenounverb
Forms
- sievespluralnounverb
- sieving-ing formverbnoun
- sievedpast tenseverbnoun