ferret
noun
[ ˈfɛrɪt ]
• a domesticated polecat used chiefly for catching rabbits. It is typically albino in coloration, but sometimes brown.
• an assiduous search for something.
• "he had a quick ferret around"
ferret
verb
• (of a person) hunt with ferrets, typically for rabbits.
• "I could show you how to ferret for rabbits"
• rummage about in a place or container in search of something.
• "he shambled over to the desk and ferreted around"
Similar:
rummage,
search about,
scrabble around,
feel around,
grope around,
forage around,
fish about,
fish around,
poke about,
poke around,
scratch about,
scratch around,
delve,
dig,
hunt,
search through,
hunt through,
rifle through,
sift through,
go through,
scour,
ransack,
explore,
rootle around,
fossick through,
roust around,
Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French fuiret, alteration of fuiron, based on late Latin furo ‘thief, ferret’, from Latin fur ‘thief’.
