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sift through

B2 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

To look carefully through a big pile of things to find what you need.

Literal meaning: To pass something through a sieve, moving through the material to find what you want.

Meanings

1 B2 idiomatic neutral

To search carefully through a large amount of material, information, or objects.

"She spent all evening sifting through old photographs looking for one of her grandmother."

"Rescue workers were sifting through the rubble looking for survivors."

— BBC News, general reporting style on disaster coverage
Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

To carefully examine a large amount of data or information to find what is relevant or true.

"Analysts are sifting through thousands of survey responses to identify patterns."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Very common in journalism, detective stories, legal contexts, and academic writing. Often collocates with 'evidence', 'data', 'rubble', 'emails'. Implies patience and thoroughness. Used in both British and American English.

Commonly used with

evidence rubble data emails records applications

Forms

Base
sift through
I/you/we/they
3rd person
sifts through
he/she/it
Past simple
sifted through
yesterday
Past participle
sifted through
have + pp
-ing form
sifting through
continuous

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