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sieve
5 dictionary results for: sieve
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
sieve       [siv] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, sieved, siev·ing.
–noun
1.an instrument with a meshed or perforated bottom, used for separating coarse from fine parts of loose matter, for straining liquids, etc., esp. one with a circular frame and fine meshes or perforations.
2.a person who cannot keep a secret.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
3.to put or force through a sieve; sift.

[Origin: bef. 900; ME sive, OE sife; c. D zeef, G Sieb; akin to sift]

sievelike, adjective
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sieve       (sĭv)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   A utensil of wire mesh or closely perforated metal, used for straining, sifting, ricing, or puréeing.

v.   sieved, siev·ing, sieves

v.   tr.
To pass through a sieve.

v.   intr.
To use a sieve; sift.


[Middle English sive, from Old English sife.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sieve 
O.E. sife "sieve," from P.Gmc. *sibi (cf. M.Du. seve, Du. zeef, O.H.G. sib, Ger. Sieb), of unknown origin. Related to sift. The verb is recorded from 1499. Sieve and shears formerly were used in divinations.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
sieve

noun
1. a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles 

verb
1. examine in order to test suitability; "screen these samples"; "screen the job applicants" [syn: screen
2. check and sort carefully; "sift the information" 
3. separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour" [syn: sift
4. distinguish and separate out; "sift through the job candidates" 

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

2. A kind of coarse basket. --Simmonds.

Sieve cells (Bot.), cribriform cells. See under Cribriform.

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