sift

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To put (flour, for example) through a sieve in order to separate the fine from the coarse particles.
• intransitive verb To distinguish as if separating with a sieve.
• intransitive verb To apply by scattering through a sieve.
• intransitive verb To examine and sort carefully.
• intransitive verb To make use of a sieve.
• intransitive verb To pass through a sieve.
• intransitive verb To make a careful examination.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To cause the finer parts of to pass through a sieve; part or separate the larger and smaller elements of, by shaking in a sieve; bolt: as, to sift meal, powder, sand, or lime; to sift the flour from the bran.
• To pass or shake through or from anything in the manner of a sieve; pour out or stir up loosely, like particles falling from a sieve: as, to sift sand through the fingers; to sift sugar upon a cake.
• To act upon or about as if by means of a sieve; examine with close scrutiny; subject to minute analysis: used with a great variety of applications: sometimes with out: as, to sift the good from the bad; to sift out the truth of the matter; to sift a proposition.
• Synonyms Sift, Bolt, Strain, Screen. Sift is used especially of action by means of a sieve, or of anything serving as a sieve, as an independent instrument; bolt, of the separation of meal and bran, or of the different grades of meal or flour, or the like, by the mechanism of a mill. Strain and screen are used of analogous action upon liquids and coarser solids.
• To pass or fall loosely or scatteringly, as if through the meshes of a sieve: as, the dust or the snow sifted through the crevices; the light sifts from the clouds.
• To practise detailed scrutiny or investigation; make close examination.
• noun Something that falls or passes as if from the meshes of a sieve; sifting or sifted material.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To separate with a sieve, as the fine part of a substance from the coarse
• transitive verb To separate or part as if with a sieve.
• transitive verb To examine critically or minutely; to scrutinize.
• transitive verb to search out with care, as if by sifting.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb To sieve or strain (something).
• verb To separate or scatter (things) as if by sieving.
• verb To examine (something) carefully.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb distinguish and separate out
• verb separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements
• verb move as if through a sieve
• verb check and sort carefully