Meaning of "ferret" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD FERRET

From Old French furet, from Latin fur thief.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF FERRET

ferret  [ˈfɛrɪt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF FERRET

Ferret is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb ferret in English.

WHAT DOES FERRET MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Ferret

The ferret is the domesticated form of the European Polecat, a mammal belonging to the weasel genus of the family Mustelidae. They typically have brown, black, white, or mixed fur. They have an average length of 20 inches including a 5 inch tail, weigh about 1.5–4 pounds, and have a natural lifespan of 7 to 10 years. Ferrets are sexually dimorphic predators with males being substantially larger than females. Several other Mustelids also have the word ferret in their common names, including an endangered species, the Black-footed Ferret. The history of the ferret's domestication is uncertain, like that of most other domestic animals, but it is likely that ferrets have been domesticated for at least 2,500 years. They are still used for hunting rabbits in some parts of the world today, but increasingly they are kept simply as pets. Being so closely related to polecats, ferrets are quite easily able to hybridize with them, and this has occasionally resulted in feral colonies of polecat-ferret hybrids that have caused damage to native fauna, perhaps most notably in New Zealand.

Definition of ferret in the English dictionary

The first definition of ferret in the dictionary is a domesticated albino variety of the polecat Mustela putorius, bred for hunting rats, rabbits, etc. Other definition of ferret is an assiduous searcher. Ferret is also to hunt with ferrets.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO FERRET

PRESENT

Present

I ferret

you ferret

he/she/it ferrets

we ferret

you ferret

they ferret

Present continuous

I am ferreting

you are ferreting

he/she/it is ferreting

we are ferreting

you are ferreting

they are ferreting

Present perfect

I have ferreted

you have ferreted

he/she/it has ferreted

we have ferreted

you have ferreted

they have ferreted

Present perfect continuous

I have been ferreting

you have been ferreting

he/she/it has been ferreting

we have been ferreting

you have been ferreting

they have been ferreting

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I ferreted

you ferreted

he/she/it ferreted

we ferreted

you ferreted

they ferreted

Past continuous

I was ferreting

you were ferreting

he/she/it was ferreting

we were ferreting

you were ferreting

they were ferreting

Past perfect

I had ferreted

you had ferreted

he/she/it had ferreted

we had ferreted

you had ferreted

they had ferreted

Past perfect continuous

I had been ferreting

you had been ferreting

he/she/it had been ferreting

we had been ferreting

you had been ferreting

they had been ferreting

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will ferret

you will ferret

he/she/it will ferret

we will ferret

you will ferret

they will ferret

Future continuous

I will be ferreting

you will be ferreting

he/she/it will be ferreting

we will be ferreting

you will be ferreting

they will be ferreting

Future perfect

I will have ferreted

you will have ferreted

he/she/it will have ferreted

we will have ferreted

you will have ferreted

they will have ferreted

Future perfect continuous

I will have been ferreting

you will have been ferreting

he/she/it will have been ferreting

we will have been ferreting

you will have been ferreting

they will have been ferreting

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would ferret

you would ferret

he/she/it would ferret

we would ferret

you would ferret

they would ferret

Conditional continuous

I would be ferreting

you would be ferreting

he/she/it would be ferreting

we would be ferreting

you would be ferreting

they would be ferreting

Conditional perfect

I would have ferret

you would have ferret

he/she/it would have ferret

we would have ferret

you would have ferret

they would have ferret

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been ferreting

you would have been ferreting

he/she/it would have been ferreting

we would have been ferreting

you would have been ferreting

they would have been ferreting

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you ferret
we let´s ferret
you ferret

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to ferret

Past participle

ferreted

Present Participle

ferreting

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «FERRET»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «ferret» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of ferret

forage · fossick · hunt · rummage · scour · search · sift

TRANSLATION OF FERRET

Find out the translation of ferret to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of ferret from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «ferret» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 雪貂
• Translator English - Spanish: hurón
• English: ferret
• Translator English - Hindi: भाल
• Translator English - Arabic: إِبْن مِقْرَص
• Translator English - Russian: хорек
• Translator English - Portuguese: furão
• Translator English - Bengali: সুতী ফিতা
• Translator English - French: furet
• Translator English - Malay: Ferret
• Translator English - German: Frettchen
• Translator English - Japanese: ケナガイタチ
• Translator English - Korean: 흰담비
• Translator English - Javanese: Ferret
• Translator English - Vietnamese: chồn ferret
• Translator English - Tamil: மரநாய்களின்
• Translator English - Marathi: प्रयत्नपूर्वक शोधून काढणे
• Translator English - Turkish: dağgelinciği
• Translator English - Italian: furetto
• Translator English - Polish: fretka
• Translator English - Ukrainian: тхір
• Translator English - Romanian: dihor
• Translator English - Greek: νυφίτσα
• Translator English - Afrikaans: ferret
• Translator English - Swedish: jaktiller
• Translator English - Norwegian: ilder

3 QUOTES WITH «FERRET»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word ferret.

1

Jay Griffiths

Human language is lit with animal life: we play cats-cradle or have hare-brained ideas; we speak of badgering, or outfoxing someone; to squirrel something away and to ferret it out.

2

Ashley Madekwe

I am a Topshop homing pigeon! I can walk into the Oxford Circus branch and ferret out the best bits in minutes.

3

Anatoly Rybakov

For a professional writer in the Soviet Union, it works this way. First, you have to have something to say - that's the main thing. Second, it's a matter of who publishes you. If your book has real stuff in it, readers will ferret it out, even in a Siberian journal.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «FERRET»

Discover the use of ferret in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to ferret and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Ferret in the Bedroom, Lizards in the Fridge

Liz wants to be class president badly, so she decides to rid her house of lizards, ferrets, hawks, and other animals brought home by her zoologist dad. Reissue.

Bill Wallace, 1988

Ferret

With the introduction of Ferret, Ruby users now have one of the fastest and most flexible search libraries available. And it's surprisingly easy to use. This book will show you how to quickly get up and running with Ferret.

David Balmain, 2008

Training Your Pet Ferret

This book describes how you can start effective training at any time, whether you adopt an adult ferret or purchase a baby kit.

Gerry Bucsis, Barbara Somerville, 2010

Ferret

This volume explores the underbelly of foreign aid - one country's assistance to another - from three levels, some of which are not totally on the level.

Somsak J., 2010

Ferret Fun

Two nervous pet ferrets named Fudge and Einstein try to convince a visiting cat that they are not mouth-watering rats.

Karen Rostoker-Gruber, 2011

Biology and Diseases of the Ferret

Biology and Diseases of the Ferret, Third Edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to provide a current, comprehensive reference on the ferret.

James G. Fox, Robert P. Marini, 2014

The Laboratory Ferret

The book presents a greater understanding of the use of the ferret in research, such as in studies on influenza. It is a valuable, handy reference for experienced individuals and for those without extensive training in working with ferrets.

C. Andrew Matchett, Rena Marr, Felipe M. Berard, 2012

Ferret Island

Stranded on an island in the middle of the Mississippi River, fourteen-year-old Will Finn discovers a race of giant ferrets and a reclusive author who plans to use the animals in a plot against McDonald's.

Richard W. Jennings, 2007

Putney Ferret: How Selfish Can You Be?

In the gentrified London neighbourhood of Putney Ferret (pronounced fe'ray), life for housemates Geoff, Humphrey and Kish is just how they like it- lazy, fickle, self-indulgent... and with as little responsibility as possible.

Freddie Hodgson, 2012

I Wish I Were a Furry Ferret

A young girl imagines how different her life would be if she were a ferret.

Christina Jordan, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «FERRET»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term ferret is used in the context of the following news items.

Groups ferret out new owners for odd pets

New Castle is also home to Helping Hands Ferret Rescue in Harlansburg – which immunizes, trains and cares for stray and donated ferrets. «Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Jul 15»

Video: Ferret runs amok in Scarborough

“I saw it was obviously not a rat but a white ferret, it seemed a bit spooked and gave a woman in front of me a bit of a fright before slipping down ... «Scarborough Today, Jul 15»

HOT OR NOT: John McEnroe in loudmouth mode is Wimbledon's …

HOT OR NOT: John McEnroe in loudmouth mode is Wimbledon's star turn... unlike Maria Sharapova's ferret impression. John McEnroe is one ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

Pages of questions and answers about Apple's word processor

If it doesn't, there's likely a corrupt database related to iCloud that's causing this recurring problem, and you'll need to get Apple's help to ferret ... «Macworld, Jul 15»

Southport Country Fair Race Day sees ferret, duck, ponies and snail …

'Punters' after a flutter and some fun need look no further than the second Southport Country Fair Race Day. The event takes place at The ... «Southport Visiter, Jul 15»

Vyapam Scam: Time to ferret out the Vyapam truth

The Congress has suddenly gone quiet on the Lalit Modi linkages issue, fearing new revelations from the former IPL Commissioner which ... «Free Press Journal, Jul 15»

Researchers test plague vaccine in Wyoming

This photo from the National Black-footed Ferret Conservation ... which in turn hurts the population of the endangered black-footed ferret. «LocalNews8.com, Jul 15»

Lost pet ferret Egremont

egremont ferret VERY TAME PET FERRET MISSING FROM EGREMONT 7/7/15. He went missing at 3.15pm yesterday from our garden in the ... «Cumbria Crack, Jul 15»

Ferret chases dog around the yard

Ferret chases dog around the yard. Ferret chases dog around the yard. Dog and Ferret Play Together. This dog and ferret are so close, even ... «Chicago Tribune, Jul 15»

Journalists using crowdfunding to launch news project The Ferret

A group of freelance journalists have launched a new subscription-based news website — The Ferret — to further investigative journalism in ... «stv.tv, Jul 15»