sieve

/sɪv/
noun
  1. A tool with a mesh or holes used to separate solids from liquids or larger pieces from smaller ones.
    • Use a fine sieve to remove the seeds from the berry juice.
    • She poured the pasta into a sieve to drain the water.
    • The gardener sifted the soil through a sieve to remove rocks.
  2. A person who cannot keep secrets or information private.
    • Don't tell him anything confidential; he's a sieve.
    • The office gossip is a total sieve when it comes to private news.
    • My little brother is a sieve — he told everyone about my surprise party.
verb
  1. To pass something through a sieve to separate or remove unwanted parts.
    • The chef sieved the sauce to make it smooth.
    • He sieved the sand to look for small shells.
    • Sieve the flour to remove any lumps before baking.
  2. To examine or sort through information or items carefully.
    • We need to sieve the data to remove errors.
    • She sieved through the emails to find the important one.
    • The detective sieved the evidence for any useful clues.
Synonyms