sift

/sɪft/

//sɪft// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sift" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sift” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,368. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,368
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To sieve or strain (something).

Corpus desk

Index EN-sift · sift · English

sift · rank #28,368 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,368
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sichuan

Nearest frequency peer: Sichuan (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sift”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sift” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

sift vs six
50% similar
sift vs sir
50% similar
sift vs sit
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for sift
PropertyValue
Headwordsift
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/sɪft/
Letters4
Frequency rank#28,368
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sift”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).siftlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Sichuan” (#28,367), “silo” (#28,369), “shrugs” (#28,366). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sift” is #28,368. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around sift (IPA /sɪft/), averb. Corpus frequency is #28,368 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for sift, with forms such as "isft", "sfit", and "sifft". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "six", "sir", "sit", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan. The correct English form is sift, spelled S-I-F-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    To sieve or strain (something).
  2. 2
    To separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving.
  3. 3
    To examine (something) carefully.
  4. 4
    To examine (something) carefully.
  5. 5
    To move data records up in memory to make space to insert further records.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sift appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. As neere as I could ſift him on that argument, On ſome apparant danger ſeene in him, Aym‘d at your Highneſſe, no inueterate malice.
  2. But if we still carry on our sifting humour, and ask, What is the foundation of all conclusions from experience ? this implies a new question.

Etymology

From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan.

This word in other languages

tamizar(Español)passer(Français)sieben(Deutsch)discernir(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • isft
  • sfit
  • sifft
  • siftt
  • sitf
  • ssift

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sift - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

isft2sfit2sifft1siftt1sitf2ssift1
Edit distance from "sift"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sift"?
"sift" is spelled S-I-F-T. The IPA pronunciation is /sɪft/.
What does "sift" mean?
As a verb, "sift" means: To sieve or strain (something).
What words are commonly confused with "sift"?
"sift" is commonly confused with "six", "sir", "sit". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sift"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sift" is /sɪft/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sift"?
From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sift", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

silo#28,369Sion#28,370shag#28,359soot#28,377

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

sabre6 variantsO'Neil6 variantsjolt6 variantschit6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list