sifting

verb

Definition of siftingnext
present participle of sift
1
as in filtering

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in inspecting

Related Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sifting
  1. filtering
  2. inspecting
  3. screening
  4. investigating
  5. straining
  6. researching
  7. studying
Verb
  • Those searches risk filtering out the candidates most likely to bring a perspective your bank lacks.
    — Paul Davis, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Director Dustin Rikert worked efficiently, filming several takes of attendees filtering into the auction.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of filtering
Verb
  • The city’s Codes Compliance Division is evaluating and inspecting the site.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • City crews have also been clearing more than 31,000 catch basins and drainage systems and inspecting and reinforcing vulnerable hillsides and burn areas, including Pacific Palisades, Bass said in a statement.
    — Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of inspecting
Verb
  • There was a report that Amazon/MGM Studios chose to limit the number of theaters screening the movie because of all the controversy, with most locations showing the film only once a day.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Shimizu, whose own perspective comes entirely from screening practice, counts that hands-on knowledge of filmmaking as one of the section’s strengths.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of screening
Verb
  • Railway infrastructure manager Adif is investigating the sequence of events surrounding the accident, Spanish news agency EFE reported on Wednesday.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 28 Oct. 2026
  • In Cucuta, next to the border with Venezuela, authorities are investigating the murder of a former deputy mayor, who was assassinated on Monday night while on his way home.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of investigating
Verb
  • Like so many Americans, Jenny Escolastico has watched wearily as the cost of living has risen, straining her household budget.
    — Moriah Balingit, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The payoff is a system that can handle more energy without straining the rest of the time.
    — Rowan Jacobsen, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of straining
Verb
  • That was until Coe started researching the warming temperatures in the region.
    — Robbie Griffiths, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The historical society has already started researching what the house would’ve looked like in the 1940s and talking with community leaders about raising money to renovate and maintain the home, Siesel said.
    — John Seewer, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of researching
Verb
  • Tan-Gillespie eventually became the first in her family to attend college, studying business at the University of Plymouth and graduating in 1996.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Researchers like us have spent years studying treatment and harm reduction, a field with a wealth of data, including insurance claims.
    — J. Travis Donahoe, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of studying
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.

Browse Nearby Words

sifted
sifting
sifts
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sifting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sifting. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All