ferret

[fer-it]

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noun

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

black-footed ferret.

verb (used with object)

to drive out by using or as if using a ferret (often followed by out): to ferret rabbits from their burrows; to ferret out enemies.

to hunt with ferrets.

to hunt over with ferrets: to ferret a field.

to search out, discover, or bring to light (often followed by out): to ferret out the facts.

to harry, worry, or torment: His problems ferreted him day and night.

verb (used without object)

to search about.

Origin of ferret

1350–1400; Middle English fer(r)et(te), fyret, furet < Middle French furet < Vulgar Latin *furittus, equivalent to fūr thief (< Latin) + -ittus -et

Related formsfer·ret·er, nounfer·ret·y, adjectiveun·fer·ret·ed, adjectiveun·fer·ret·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ferret out

unearth, ascertain, uncover, chase, determine, disclose, discover, elicit, extract, follow, hunt, learn, penetrate, pierce, probe, pry, pursue, quest, seek, trace

British Dictionary definitions for ferret out

ferret

noun

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

an assiduous searcher

black-footed ferret a musteline mammal, Mustela nigripes, of W North America, closely related to the weasels

verb -rets, -reting or -reted

to hunt (rabbits, rats, etc) with ferrets

(tr usually foll by out) to drive from hidingto ferret out snipers

(tr usually foll by out) to find by persistent investigation

(intr) to search around

Derived Formsferreter, nounferrety, adjective

Word Origin for ferret

C14: from Old French furet, from Latin fur thief

ferret

ferreting

noun

silk binding tape

Word Origin for ferret

C16: from Italian fioretti floss silk, plural of fioretto : a little flower, from fiore flower, from Latin flōs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ferret out

ferret

early 15c., from ferret (n.), in reference to the use of half-tame ferrets to kill rats and flush rabbits from burrows; the extended sense of "search out, discover" is 1570s. Related: Ferreted; ferreting.

ferret

late 14c., from Old French furet, diminutive of fuiron "weasel, ferret," literally "thief," probably from Late Latin furionem (related to furonem "cat," also "robber"), from Latin fur (genitive furis) "thief."

Idioms and Phrases with ferret out

ferret out

Uncover and bring to light by searching, as in Sandy was a superb reporter, tireless in ferreting out whatever facts were needed for her story. This expression alludes to hunting with ferrets, weasel-like animals formerly used to drive rabbits out of their burrows. [c. 1600]