sieve

Universal Words noun, verb noun a tool for separating solids from liquids or larger solids from smaller solids, made of a wire or plastic net attached to a ring. The liquid or small pieces pass through the net but the larger pieces do not: Press the apricot jam through a sieve and stir in one tablespoon of cold water. IDIOMS have a memory / mind like a sieve (informal) to have a very bad memory; to forget things easily verb [VN] to put sth through a sieve