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What does Ferret mean?

Definitions for Ferret
ˈfɛr ɪtfer·ret

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Ferret.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. black-footed ferret, ferret, Mustela nigripesnoun

    musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct

  2. ferretverb

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

  3. ferretverb

    hound or harry relentlessly

  4. ferretverb

    hunt with ferrets

  5. ferret out, ferretverb

    search and discover through persistent investigation

    "She ferreted out the truth"

GCIDE

  1. Ferretnoun

    An animal of the Weasel family (Mustela furo syn. Putorius furo), about fourteen inches in length, of a pale yellow or white color, with red eyes. It is a native of Africa, but has been domesticated in Europe. Ferrets are used to drive rabbits and rats out of their holes. They are sometimes kept as pets.

Wiktionary

  1. ferretnoun

    A mammal rather like a weasel, but which was originally bred from the polecat and often trained to hunt rats or rabbits in England.

  2. ferretverb

    To hunt game with ferrets.

  3. ferretverb

    To uncover and bring to light by searching; usually to ferret out.

  4. Etymology: furet, ferret, from firet, furet, diminutive of fuiron, from furo, diminutive of fur.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. FERRETnoun

    Etymology: fured, Welsh; furet, French; ferret, Dutch; viverra, Lat.

    With what an eager earnestness she looked, having threatning not only in her ferret eyes, but while she spoke her nose seemed to threaten her chin. Philip Sidney, b. ii.

    Marcus Tullius Cicero
    Looks with such ferret and such firy eyes,
    As we have seen him. William Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar.

    Coneys are destroyed or taken either by ferrets or pursenets. John Mortimer, Husbandry.

  2. To Ferretverb

    To drive out of lurking places, as the ferret drives the coney.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    The archbishop had ferreted him out of all his holds. Peter Heylyn.

Wikipedia

  1. Ferret

    The ferret (Mustela furo) is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (Mustela putorius), evidenced by their interfertility. Other mustelids include the stoat, badger and mink. Physically, ferrets resemble other mustelids because of their long, slender bodies. Including their tail, the average length of a ferret is about 50 cm (20 in); they weigh between 0.7 and 2.0 kg (1.5 and 4.4 lb); and their fur can be black, brown, white, or a mixture of those colours. In this sexually dimorphic species, males are considerably larger than females. Ferrets may have been domesticated since ancient times, but there is widespread disagreement because of the sparseness of written accounts and the inconsistency of those which survive. Contemporary scholarship agrees that ferrets were bred for sport, hunting rabbits in a practice known as rabbiting. In North America, the ferret has become an increasingly prominent choice of household pet, with over five million in the United States alone. The legality of ferret ownership varies by location. In New Zealand and some other countries, restrictions apply due to the damage done to native fauna by feral colonies of polecat–ferret hybrids. The ferret has also served as a fruitful research animal, contributing to research in neuroscience and infectious disease, especially influenza. The domestic ferret is often confused with the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), a species native to North America.

ChatGPT

  1. ferret

    A ferret is a small, carnivorous mammal that belongs to the weasel family (Mustelidae). They are known for their long, slender bodies, short legs, and distinctive coat patterns. Ferrets are often kept as pets, but can also be used for hunting pests like rabbits and rodents. They are intelligent and social animals, known for their playful, active nature.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Ferretnoun

    an animal of the Weasel family (Mustela / Putorius furo), about fourteen inches in length, of a pale yellow or white color, with red eyes. It is a native of Africa, but has been domesticated in Europe. Ferrets are used to drive rabbits and rats out of their holes

  2. Ferretnoun

    to drive or hunt out of a lurking place, as a ferret does the cony; to search out by patient and sagacious efforts; -- often used with out; as, to ferret out a secret

  3. Ferretnoun

    a kind of narrow tape, usually made of woolen; sometimes of cotton or silk; -- called also ferreting

  4. Ferretnoun

    the iron used for trying the melted glass to see if is fit to work, and for shaping the rings at the mouths of bottles

  5. Etymology: [Ital. foretto, dim. of fiore flower; or F. fleuret. Cf. Floret.]

Wikidata

  1. Ferret

    The ferret is a domesticated mammal belonging to 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 small, elongated carnivorous mammals belonging to the Mustelidae family also have the word ferret in their common names, including an endangered species, the Black-footed Ferret. The ferret is a very close relative of the polecat, but it is as yet unclear whether it is a domesticated form of the European Polecat, the Steppe Polecat, or some hybrid of the two. 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 been perceived to have caused damage to native fauna, perhaps most notably in New Zealand. As a result, some parts of the world have imposed restrictions on the keeping of ferrets.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Ferret

    fer′et, n. ribbon woven from spun silk. [Corr. from It. fioretto—L. flos, floris, a flower.]

  2. Ferret

    fer′et, n. a half-tamed albino variety of the polecat, employed in unearthing rabbits.—v.t. to drive out of a hiding-place: to search out cunningly:—pr.p. ferr′eting; pa.p. ferr′eted.—n. Ferr′eter, one who uses a ferret to catch rabbits, &c.: one who searches minutely. [O. Fr. furet, a ferret—Low L. furon-em, robber—L. fur, a thief.]

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms

  1. ferret

    An aircraft, ship, or vehicle especially equipped for the detection, location, recording, and analyzing of electromagnetic radiation.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. FERRET

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ferret is ranked #140157 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Ferret surname appeared 119 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Ferret.

    64.7% or 77 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    32.7% or 39 total occurrences were White.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Ferret in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Ferret in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Ferret in a Sentence

  1. Ken Burns:

    Other music genres are separated and isolated by celebrity, by bold faced names, they're going through that same stuff, and People Magazine's going to discover them and ferret People Magazine out and tell you, or the tabloids will. But with country it's right in your face. You know what's going on when somebody miscarries. You know when this person's marriage is over or when somebody falls in love. That's a particularly intimate thing.

  2. Angelica Varela:

    As conservation work, I mean were doing this so that eventually we dont have to keep doing it. Angelica Varela drove up from Phoenix with Angelica Varela friend, Brandi Kapos, who is an Olive Garden waitress and an Arizona State Univerisity conservation biology graduate. Shes looking to return to school to get a masters degree in Geographic Information Systems. Before Angelica Varela and Brandi Kapos got their assignment from Jennifer Cordova for the night, they said they had energy drinks and candy. Angelica Varela said Angelica Varela was pumped. With freezing temperates on the first night of the search, around 10 of the volunteers showed up, including Arizona State Univerisity biology graduates Angelica Varela and Brandi Kapos. ( Fox News) Jennifer Cordova said the goal is to get the black-footed ferret off the endangered species list. Fox News important because wildlife dont have a say -- theydont have a voice out there, Holly Hicks said. So, its people like us who manage and try to keep that voice out there and people aware. Our passion comes from a lot of places. We love animals. We want to see wildlife in the future for future generations. Only found in North America, this wild animal differs from the European pet ferrets that are domesticated. The black-footed ferret was once thought extinct until 18 were found in 1981. Since then, recovery and breeding efforts have helped the black-footed ferret population grow. I kind of feel like its our duty.

  3. Robert Coonrod:

    We're looking for a ferret to be outside his hole. We drive down, he gets curious, looks at the lights, you see the green eye shine, and then it's off to the races.

  4. Angelica Varela:

    The black-footed ferrets prey on prairie dogs so it was once thought that elimination programs for the dogs, considered a nuisance to farmers and ranchers, were impacting the ferret population. Now, there was a concerted effort by the state to rebuild the black-footed ferret population. On a recent day, volunteers made their way to small-town Seligman and met for training on the first night inside a rented home in a rural neighborhood that Arizona Game and Fish uses for the operation. One of those volunteers is Robert Coonrod, who bought a pick-up truck and rigged it with overhead lights specifically for the night-time searches. Robert Coonrod has been volunteering for five years. Though hes not a biologist, he enjoys helping out wildlife and found a new photography hobby while volunteering. HUNTERS TURN TO HIPSTERS TO HELP BOOST SPORTS DECLINING NUMBERS One of the volunteers is Robert Coonrod, who bought a pick-up truck and rigged it with overhead lights specifically for the night-time searches. ( Fox News) Were looking for a ferret to be outside his hole. We drive down, he gets curious, looks at the lights, you see the green eyes shine, and then its off to the races, Robert Coonrod said. Once the animalis spotted, volunteers run towardit and set up a trap. But they have to first hopscotch around prairie dog burrows that dot the landscape. Sometimes it can be very entertaining watching people run across a prairie dog colony because youre so focused on the ferret that you forget about all these holes on the ground, Holly Hicks said. Yeah, every one of us has tripped and fallen in a prairie dog hole after chasing after a ferret. ARIZONA MAN PICKED UP NEWBORN FAWN, TOOK IT TO LOCAL BAR, OFFICIALS SAY With freezing temperates on the first night of the search, around 10 of the volunteers showed up, including Arizona State Univerisity biology graduate Angelica Varela, who will soon be starting an internship with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. With freezing temperates on the first night of the search, around 10 of the volunteers showed up( Fox News)( When I started) volunteering( for other wildlife organizations) and really getting boots on the ground and realizing the hard work that actually goes into it, its really important and its really satisfying being able to know that you had a part in helping a species, as conservation work, I mean were doing this so that eventually we dont have to keep doing it. Angelica Varela drove up from Phoenix with Angelica Varela friend, Brandi Kapos, who is an Olive Garden waitress and an Arizona State Univerisity conservation biology graduate. Shes looking to return to school to get a masters degree in Geographic Information Systems. Before Angelica Varela and Brandi Kapos got their assignment from Jennifer Cordova for the night, they said they had energy drinks and candy. Angelica Varela said Angelica Varela was pumped. With freezing temperates on the first night of the search, around 10 of the volunteers showed up, including Arizona State Univerisity biology graduates Angelica Varela and Brandi Kapos. ( Fox News) Jennifer Cordova said the goal is to get the black-footed ferret off the endangered species list. Fox News important because wildlife dont have a say -- theydont have a voice out there, Holly Hicks said. So, its people like us who manage and try to keep that voice out there and people aware. Our passion comes from a lot of places. We love animals. We want to see wildlife in the future for future generations. Only found in North America, this wild animal differs from the European pet ferrets that are domesticated. The black-footed ferret was once thought extinct until 18 were found in 1981. Since then, recovery and breeding efforts have helped the black-footed ferret population grow. I kind of feel like its our duty.

  5. Peter Henning:

    They are trying to ferret out information from the midlevel employees who may know what happened but are fearful of being made a scapegoat.

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