"sieves" in the noun sense
1. sieve, screen
a strainer for separating lumps from powdered material or grading particles
"sieves" in the verb sense
1. screen, screen out, sieve, sort
examine in order to test suitability
"screen these samples"
"screen the job applicants"
2. sieve, sift
check and sort carefully
"sift the information"
3. sift, sieve, strain
separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
"sift the flour"
4. sieve, sift
distinguish and separate out
"sift through the job candidates"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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