ferret Hear it!

ferret¹ Definition

fer·ret (fer′ət)

noun

a narrow ribbon of cotton, wool, silk, etc.

Etymology: < It fioretti, floss silk, orig. pl. of fioretto, dim. of fiore, a flower < L flos, flower

ferret² Definition

fer·ret (fer′ət)

noun

  1. a small, domesticated European polecat with pink eyes and yellowish fur, easily tamed for hunting rabbits, rats, etc.
  2. a rare, black-footed weasel (Mustela nigripes) of the W U.S.

Etymology: ME feret < OFr furet < LL furetus, dim. of furo, a ferret < L fur, thief: see furtive

transitive verb

  1. to force out of hiding with or as if with a ferret
  2. to search for persistently and discover (facts, the truth, etc.); search: with out
  3. Archaic to keep after; harass

intransitive verb

  1. to hunt with ferrets
  2. to search around

ferret² Related Forms

fer′·reter noun fer′·rety (-ē) adjective

ferret Usage Examples

Object

  • racing: There's goat milking, ferret racing, lamb feeding or you can make a craft souvenir to take home.
  • cage: We are advised that an all wire ferret cage in a shed or utility room is better.
  • owner: I have no problem with ferrets; it's the ferret owners I have a problem with!
  • food: She is fed on ferret complete food with her daily treat of fresh fish, liver, steak or fresh rabbit.

Converse of object

  • keep: School records note that Fell kept ferrets in the school gardens.
  • have: Each race has four ferrets " owned " by someone paying 15 GBP.
  • work: It can be seen why Jill ferrets are popular as working ferrets.
  • use: You can also use ferrets to bolt the rabbits out of their buries.

Adjective modifier

  • feral: It also aims to plot the distribution of feral ferrets on the British mainland.
  • domestic: The domestic ferret is what you see in pet stores.
  • female: Either male or female ferrets from the same litter can live happily together.
  • other: Other ferret grooming Nails Your ferret will need to have his nails clipped about every two weeks.
  • pet: There is no cure and no available vaccine, but clinically this disease is extremely rare in pet ferrets.

Modifies a noun

owner: Many devoted ferret owners attend pet ferret shows where they compete.

Modifying Another Word

  • about: In fact, I have been ferreting about among some of the old song books that we had a home.
  • away: Fury there often is at the way normal decent life is being ferreted away.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • around: Had a bit of a ferret around, then exited into sunset & to find-out our collection of Jaffa Cakes.
  • out: We royal fans buy tidbits of monarchy, trade them on eBay, store them in our attics for the police to ferret out.

Particle object:

information: The fund managers also spend most of their time ferreting out detailed information about companies to try to avoid the losers.

Preposition: in

sack: Then, BAM, they're like fighting ferrets in a sack!