ferret

fer·ret ¹

 (fĕr′ĭt)

n.

1. A domesticated mustelid mammal (Mustela furo syn. Mustela putorius subsp. furo) with an elongated flexible body, often kept as a pet and sometimes trained to hunt rats or rabbits.

2. A black-footed ferret.

v. fer·ret·ed, fer·ret·ing, fer·rets

v.tr.

1.

a. To hunt (rabbits, for example) with ferrets.

b. To drive out, as from a hiding place; expel.

2. To uncover and bring to light by searching. Often used with out: "Their work merely points the way for others to ferret out the core components of all proteins" (Natalie Angier).

3. To hound or harry persistently; worry.

v.intr.

1. To engage in hunting with ferrets.

2. To search intensively.

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[Middle English furet, ferret, from Old French furet, from Vulgar Latin *fūrittus, diminutive of Latin fūr, thief; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

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fer′ret·er n.

fer′ret·y adj.

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fer·ret ²

 (fĕr′ĭt) also fer·ret·ing (-ĭ-tĭng)

n.

A narrow piece of tape used to bind or edge fabric.

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[Probably alteration of Italian fioretti, floss silk, pl. of fioretto, diminutive of fiore, flower, from Latin flōs, flōr-, flower; see bhel- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ferret

(ˈfɛrɪt)

n

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

2. an assiduous searcher

3. (Animals) black-footed ferret a musteline mammal, Mustela nigripes, of W North America, closely related to the weasels

vb, -rets, -reting or -reted

4. (Hunting) to hunt (rabbits, rats, etc) with ferrets

5. (usually foll by: out) to drive from hiding: to ferret out snipers.

6. (usually foll by: out) to find by persistent investigation

7. (intr) to search around

[C14: from Old French furet, from Latin fur thief]

ˈferreter n

ˈferrety adj

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ferret

(ˈfɛrɪt) or

ferreting

n

(Crafts) silk binding tape

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

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fer•ret¹

(ˈfɛr ɪt)

n.

1. a domesticated variety of the polecat, used esp. in Europe for driving small mammals from their burrows.

2. Also called black-footed ferret. a North American prairie weasel, Mustela nigripes, with a black mask and black feet.

v.t.

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

4. to hunt with ferrets.

5. to hunt over with ferrets: to ferret a field.

6. to search out; bring to light (often fol. by out): to ferret out the facts.

7. to harry or worry; torment.

v.i.

8. to search about.

9. to hunt with ferrets.

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

fer′ret•er, n.

fer′ret•y, adj.

fer•ret²

(ˈfɛr ɪt)

n.

a narrow tape or ribbon, as of silk or cotton, used for trimming, etc. Also called fer′ret•ing.

[1570–80; alter. of Italian fioretto floss silk, literally, little flower =fior(e) (< Latin flōrem; see flower)]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

ferret

- Its name comes from Latin furritus, "little thief"—alluding to the animal's affinity for stealing hens' eggs.

See also related terms for thief.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

ferret

An aircraft, ship, or vehicle especially equipped for the detection, location, recording, and analyzing of electromagnetic radiation.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

ferret

Past participle: ferreted
Gerund: ferreting

Imperative

ferret

ferret

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	ferret - musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct black-footed ferret, Mustela nigripes mustelid, musteline, musteline mammal - fissiped fur-bearing carnivorous mammals genus Mustela, Mustela - type genus of the family Mustelidae: minks and weasels
	2.	ferret - domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits fitch, foulmart, foumart, Mustela putorius, polecat - dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened
Verb	1.	ferret - hound or harry relentlessly hound, hunt, trace - pursue or chase relentlessly; "The hunters traced the deer into the woods"; "the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him"
	2.	ferret - hunt with ferrets hunt, hunt down, track down, run - pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals); "Goering often hunted wild boars in Poland"; "The dogs are running deer"; "The Duke hunted in these woods"
	3.	ferret - search and discover through persistent investigation; "She ferreted out the truth" ferret out discover, find - make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

ferret

verb search, hunt, sift, scour, rummage, forage, fossick (Austral. & N.Z.) She ferreted among some papers.

ferret something or out track down, discover, trace, disclose, get at, unearth, drive out, elicit, dig up, root out, search out, bring to light, nose out, smell out, run to earth They are trying to ferret out missing details.

Related words
male hob
female gill or jill
young kit

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

إِبْن مِقْرَصإبن مِقْرَض حيوان شبيه بابْن عِرْسيصيد مُسْتَعينا بابْنِ عِرْس

fretka

fritte

Frettchenherumstöbern

νυφίτσακουνάβι

furo

hurón

fretti

furetfureter

lasicatvor

vadászgörényvadászmenyét

fretta

furettoscoprire

ケナガイタチ

흰담비

šeškasknistis

baltais sesks

fret

fritteilderlete iherdig ettersnuse opp

fretka

furão

хорек

fretka

jaktiller

สัตว์คล้ายพังพอน

dağ gelinciğiyaban gelinciği

chồn ferret

雪貂搜寻

ferret

[ˈferɪt]

A. N → hurón m

B. VI → cazar con hurones

ferret about ferret around VI + ADV → hurgar (in en)

ferret out VT + ADV [+ person] → dar con; [+ secret, truth] → desentrañar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ferret

[ˈfɛrɪt] n → furet m

ferret about

vi → fureter
to ferret about for sth → fouiller à la recherche de qch

ferret around

vi → fureter

vt fus → fureter dans

ferret out

vt sep → dénicherFerris wheel ferris wheel [ˈfɛrɪs^hwiːl] n (US) (= big wheel) → grande roue f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ferret

n → Frettchen nt

vi

(Sport: also go ferreting) → mit dem Frettchen jagen

(also ferret about or around) → herumstöbern or -schnüffeln (pej); she was ferreting (about or around) among my books → sie schnüffelte in meinen Büchern (herum); he was ferreting (around) for information → er schnüffelte nach Informationen (herum)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ferret

[ˈfɛrɪt]

1. n → furetto

2. vi → cacciare con il furetto

ferret about ferret around vi + adv (fam) → frugare

ferret out vt + adv (fam) (secret, truth) → scoprire; (person) → scovare, scoprire

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

ferret

(ˈferit) noun

a type of small, weasel-like animal used to chase rabbits out of their holes. fret إبن مِقْرَض حيوان شبيه بابْن عِرْس полуопитомен пор doninha fretka das Frettchen fritte κουνάβιhurón tuhkur موش خرما fretti furet חֲמוּס नेवले की जाति का जानवर pitoma vretica (vrsta tvora vadászmenyét cerpelai fretta furetto 白いたち 흰담비 šeškas baltais sesks feret fretfrittefretka موږک پرانګ doninha dihor хорёк fretka beli dihur lasica jaktiller สัตว์คล้ายพังพอนใช้ไล่ล่าหนูหรือกระต่าย dağ gelinciği 雪貂 тхір ایک چھوٹا قطبی بلا chồn sương 雪貂

ferret (about) verb

to search busily and persistently. He ferreted about in the cupboard. rondsnuffel يصيد مُسْتَعينا بابْنِ عِرْس тършувам esquadrinhar slídit herumstöbern lede med lys og lygte σκαλίζω επίμονα hurgar nuuskima با دقت جستجو کردن penkoa fureter לְחַפֵּש खोजना njuškati, pretraživati kutat mencari-cari gramsa, róta frugare, rovistare 探し回る 뒤지다, 찾아헤매다 knistis, raustis rakņāties menyelongkar rondsnuffelen lete iherdig etter, rote, snuse opp myszkować تلاش کول esquadrinhar a cotrobăi рыться sliediť brskati iščačkati snoka ค้นหา arayıp taramak 搜尋 рознюхувати; нишпорити ڈھونڈنا tìm kiếm; lục lọi 搜寻

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

ferret

→ إِبْن مِقْرَص fretka fritte Frettchen νυφίτσα hurón fretti furet lasica furetto ケナガイタチ 흰담비 fret ilder fretka furão хорек jaktiller สัตว์คล้ายพังพอน yaban gelinciği chồn ferret 雪貂

Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009