fossick

[ fos-ik ]

verb (used without object)

Mining. to undermine another's digging; search for waste gold in relinquished workings, washing places, etc.
to search for any object by which to make gain: to fossick for clients.

verb (used with object)

to hunt; seek; ferret out.

Origin of fossick

First recorded in 1850–55; origin uncertain; compare British dialect fossick “troublesome person,” fussick, fursick “to bustle about, fidget”; apparently fuss + -ick, variant of -ock

Other words from fossick

fos·sick·er, noun

Words Nearby fossick

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fossick in a sentence

Major Davis plays the violin a little, and we are going to fossick others out.
The Secrets of a Kuttite | Edward O. Mousley
What Mr. Wake, Mr. fossick, Mr. Fyle, who had all been out the day before?
Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour | R. S. Surtees

British Dictionary definitions for fossick

fossick

/ (ˈfɒsɪk) /

verbAustralian and NZ

(intr) to search for gold or precious stones in abandoned workings, rivers, etc
to rummage or search for (something)

Origin of fossick

C19: Australian, probably from English dialect fussock to bustle about, from fuss

Derived forms of fossick

fossicker, noun

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

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