Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

ferret

Pronunciation: /ˈfɛrɪt/

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

noun

  • 1a domesticated polecat used chiefly for catching rabbits. It is typically albino in coloration, but sometimes brown. See polecat-ferret.
    • Mustela furo, family Mustelidae; descended mainly from the European polecat
  • 2an assiduous search for something:he had a quick ferret around

verb (ferrets, ferreting, ferreted)

  • 1 [no object] (of a person) hunt with ferrets, typically for rabbits: (as noun ferreting)ferreting is increasing in popularity
  • [with object] clear (a hole or area of ground) of rabbits with ferrets.
  • 2 [no object] rummage about in a place or container in search of something:he shambled over to the desk and ferreted around
  • [with object] (ferret something out) discover information by means of an assiduous search or investigation: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 US English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

leporine

/ ˈlɛpərʌɪn /
adjective
of or resembling a hare or hares …