FERRET

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does ferret mean? 

• FERRET (noun)
  The noun FERRET has 2 senses:

1. musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct

2. domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits

  Familiarity information: FERRET used as a noun is rare.

• FERRET (verb)
  The verb FERRET has 3 senses:

1. hound or harry relentlessly

2. hunt with ferrets

3. search and discover through persistent investigation

  Familiarity information: FERRET used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FERRET (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

black-footed ferret; ferret; Mustela nigripes

Hypernyms ("ferret" is a kind of...):

mustelid; musteline; musteline mammal (fissiped fur-bearing carnivorous mammals)

Holonyms ("ferret" is a member of...):

genus Mustela; Mustela (type genus of the family Mustelidae: minks and weasels)

Derivation:

ferret (hunt with ferrets)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("ferret" is a kind of...):

fitch; foulmart; foumart; Mustela putorius; polecat (dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened)

• FERRET (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they ferret    ... he / she / it ferrets   
Past simple: ferreted   
Past participle: ferreted   
-ing form: ferreting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hound or harry relentlessly

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "ferret" is one way to...):

hound; hunt; trace (pursue or chase relentlessly)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hunt with ferrets

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Hypernyms (to "ferret" is one way to...):

hunt; hunt down; run; track down (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

ferret (musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Search and discover through persistent investigation

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

ferret; ferret out

Context example:

She ferreted out the truth

Hypernyms (to "ferret" is one way to...):

discover; find (make a discovery)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

 Context examples 

Yes—yes—the end is not so difficult; if I had only a brain active enough to ferret out the means of attaining it.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Found in gastric mucosa of primates, including human beings and ferrets.

(Helicobacter, NCI Thesaurus)

She is a tall, pale woman, with ferret eyes.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The researchers sequenced viral genetic material obtained from the ferret nasal washes.

(Researchers find role for soft palate in adaptation of transmissible influenza viruses, NIH)

A diverse taxonomic order of placental mammals that includes bears, dogs, cats, and ferrets.

(Carnivora, NCI Thesaurus)

To further investigate these findings, the scientists tested the antibodies in three animal models: wild-type mice, mice genetically altered to be susceptible to Sudan ebolavirus, and ferrets.

(Antibodies from Ebola survivor protect mice and ferrets against related viruses, NIH)

He could scarcely hear what it said, so ravished was he, though he controlled his face, for he knew that Mr. Higginbotham's ferret eyes were fixed upon him.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

H. mustelae is part of the normal flora of the ferret gastrointestinal tract and causes peptic ulcer disease and chronic atrophic gastritis.

(Helicobacter mustelae, NCI Thesaurus)

Here and there they rushed with wild screams and curses, diving under the sail, crouching behind booms, huddling into corners like rabbits when the ferrets are upon them, as helpless and as hopeless.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In pre-clinical research, the ferret is used most commonly in toxicological screening and studies involving human influenza virus, as well as studies in reproductive physiology, anatomy, endocrinology and neuroscience.

(Ferret, NCI Thesaurus)