phrasesort through sort through sth to look for something among a lot of similar things, especially when you arrange these things into a particular order: She sat down and sorted carefully through the files. She quickly found the one she was looking for.■ SIMILAR TO: go through
sort through (something)
To examine or investigate the contents of something and organize or arrange them in some manner. I want you to sort through all the junk in this closet before you go to college and get rid of anything you don't want me to save.We spent the night sorting through old photographs my grandmother had left behind.
sort through
v.
To go through some container or collection and classify or arrange the contents, especially when searching: I sorted through the stack of mail looking for the phone bill. We sorted through the box of photos for a picture of the dog.