ferret

Word family

Related topics: Animals

ldoce_095_afer·ret1 /ˈferɪt/ noun [countableC]

HBAa small animal with a pointed nose, used to hunt rats and rabbits 雪貂，白鼬 →5 See picture of FERRET 雪貂

Examples from the Corpus

ferret• Ferrets die: Two ferrets died when fire swept through a garden shed in Ilkley Grove, Hartlepool.• After a few days its rightful owner came to collect it and informed her that it was in fact a ferret.• The result is that the growing ferrets show no shyness to human contact.• In 1973, a small group of ferrets discovered in South Dakota were captured for a propagation program.• Take your pick A compartmental ferret-box - the ferrets sitting placidly.• None of this matters at all provided the ferrets work efficiently.• The white ferret, for example, is more visible, while the polecat is less so.

ferret2 verb [intransitiveI]

1 [always + adverbadv/prepositionprep] informalLOOK FOR to search for something that is lost or hidden among a lot of things or inside a drawer, box etc 〔在抽屉、箱子里等〕搜找，翻寻

ferret around/round/about

He started ferreting around in his desk.

他开始在自己的书桌里翻找起来。

ferret for

She ferreted in her bag for a pen.

她在包里翻找钢笔。

2. CATCHto hunt rats and rabbits using a ferret 用雪貂猎鼠[猎兔]

3 ferret somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verbphr v

a) FIND OUTto succeed in finding something such as a piece of information, that is difficult to find 查获；搜出

It’s been difficult for reporters to ferret out the facts in this case.

记者很难查出这件事的真相。

Uncle Vernon ferreted out the laundry box from under the stairs.

弗农叔叔在楼梯下面找到了洗衣筐。

b) American EnglishAmE to find and usually get rid of someone who is causing a problem 查出并除去〔惹出麻烦的人〕

The new program is meant to ferret out problem cops.

这个新计划旨在清除问题警员。

Examples from the Corpus

ferret• So it wouldn't have just been insurance investigators ferreting about - it would have been the world's press as well.• It would have been a sad disappointment to anyone ferreting in the top drawer of his desk.• To ferret out only whole words, press the spacebar once before and once after typing the search word.• It has one reporter who does nothing but ferret out supposed left-wing involvement in the membership of any organization the Tribune dislikes.• Thank goodness for the debunkers like Hymes who ferret out the frauds and expose the poseurs.• The opponents also wanted to ferret out the guilty, but they insisted that the rights protected.• Fortunately, archaeology breeds rebels who care for nothing but ferreting out the truth.

ferret around/round/about• Male speaker It's all over now although the papers are still ferreting around.• The reporters keep on ferreting around.• Some people carry their ferrets around in bags or sacks.• The very next day I started ferreting around in the woods and came upon the most magnificent fortress of a sett.• So it wouldn't have just been insurance investigators ferreting about - it would have been the world's press as well.

Origin ferret1

(1300-1400) Old French furet, from Latin fur “thief”

fer·ret1 nounferret2 verb

Chinese

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Corpus