MEANING
1. To search persistently for something hidden or difficult to find.
2. A small, long-bodied mammal often kept as a pet or used to hunt rabbits.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- ferret out the truth
- ferret through old files
On the page
She ferreted out the original contract among years of duplicate invoices.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- ferret
- Past tense
- ferreted
- Past participle
- ferreted
- Present participle
- ferreting
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- ferret
- Present continuous
- am/is/are ferreting
- Present perfect
- have/has ferreted
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been ferreting
- Past
- ferreted
- Past continuous
- was/were ferreting
- Past perfect
- had ferreted
- Past perfect continuous
- had been ferreting
- Future
- will ferret
- Future continuous
- will be ferreting
- Future perfect
- will have ferreted
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been ferreting
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: ferret; ferrets; ferreted; ferreted; ferreting. Noun singular ferret; plural ferrets. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, action. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: ferrets.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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