ferret

¹ American  

[fer-it] / ˈfɛr ɪt /

noun

1. a domesticated, usually red-eyed, and albinic variety of the polecat, used in Europe for driving rabbits and rats from their burrows.

2. black-footed ferret.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to drive out by using or as if using a ferret (often followed byout ).

   to ferret rabbits from their burrows;

   to ferret out enemies.

2. to hunt with ferrets.

3. to hunt over with ferrets.

   to ferret a field.

4. to search out, discover, or bring to light (often followed byout ).

   to ferret out the facts.

5. to harry, worry, or torment.

   His problems ferreted him day and night.

verb (used without object)

1. to search about.

ferret ² American  

[fer-it] / ˈfɛr ɪt /

noun

1. a narrow tape or ribbon, as of silk or cotton, used for binding, trimming, etc.

---

ferret ¹ British  

/ ˈfɛrɪt /

noun

1. a domesticated albino variety of the polecat Mustela putorius , bred for hunting rats, rabbits, etc

2. an assiduous searcher

3. a musteline mammal, Mustela nigripes , of W North America, closely related to the weasels

---

verb

1. to hunt (rabbits, rats, etc) with ferrets

2. to drive from hiding

   to ferret out snipers

3. to find by persistent investigation

4. (intr) to search around

ferret ² British  

/ ˈfɛrɪt /

noun

1. silk binding tape

---

Other Word Forms

• ferreter
  noun
• ferrety
  adjective
• unferreted
  adjective
• unferreting
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of ferret¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English feret, furet, from Middle French furet, fuiret, from Vulgar Latin furittus (unrecorded), equivalent to fūr “thief” + -ittus -et

Origin of ferret²

First recorded in 1570–80; alteration of Italian fioretto “floss silk,” literally, “little flower,” equivalent to fior(e) + -etto diminutive ending; see flower, -et

Explanation

You may be familiar with ferrets, those adorable little mammals that look like cheap minks. Well, the verb to ferret means to act like a ferret: to dig for something until you find it. Ferrets are great at digging, so it's no surprise that we acknowledge their skills when we make the verb ferret, which almost always comes attached to the preposition "out." Woodward and Bernstein worked tirelessly to ferret out the names of the guys who raided the Watergate offices. When you're ready, I'm going to ask you to ferret out those two photos from that stack of photo boxes.

Example Sentences

An investigation by the Ferret website showed the shop's tenants Junaid Retail Limited had not paid business rates and did not appear registered to sell vaping products.

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

The Atlantic rushes into the bay an opening that is just over 2 miles wide formed by Cap Ferret in the west and the Dunes du Pilat in the east.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 28, 2025

A family law attorney, Phillips ran the California Domestic Ferret Assn. for 25 years until 2000, when “he could only bang his head against the wall for so long” and resigned.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2022

As first reported by The Ferret, he immediately started making calls to the British Embassy in Ukraine to secure her safe passage to the UK.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2022

Ferret archers at the edge of the meadow found the range of Basil’s bowmice.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Related Words

• check
• comb
• examine
• explore
• go through
• hunt
• hunt for
• inspect
• investigate
• look
• probe
• ransack
• scan
• scour
• scout
• scrutinize
• seek
• sift