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ferret

Syllabification: (fer·ret)
Pronunciation: /ˈferət/

Translate ferret | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of ferret

noun

  • a domesticated polecat kept as a pet or used, especially in Europe, for catching rabbits. It is typically albino or brown.
    • Mustela putorius furo, family Mustelidae; descended mainly from the European polecat
  • (black-footed ferret) a rare weasellike animal (Mustela nigripes), found in grassland in the US.

verb (ferrets, ferreting, ferreted)

  • [no object] (of a person) hunt with ferrets, typically for rabbits.
  • clear (a hole or area of ground) of rabbits with ferrets.
  • [with adverbial of place] look around in a place or container in search of something:he went to the desk and ferreted around
  • [with object] (ferret something out) search tenaciously for and find something:she had the ability to ferret out the facts

Derivatives

ferreter

noun

ferrety

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French fuiret, alteration of fuiron, based on late Latin furo 'thief, ferret', from Latin fur 'thief'

ferret in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of ferret in the British & World English dictionary