[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/ferret/)

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# ferret

noun (a ferret, ferrets); verb (ferret, ferrets, ferreted, ferreting)

«ferret» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A small, long, thin furry animal related to the weasel, kept as a pet or once used to chase rabbits out of their holes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#m1)
2. (verb) To ferret around or about is to search busily for something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#m2)
3. To ferret out is to find something out by careful searching. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#m3)

### In the lessons

In nature topics, ferrets are playful pets that sleep a lot. In history and countryside stories, people used ferrets to hunt rabbits. In everyday talk, ferret about in a drawer means rummage. Phrases: ferret around, ferret out the truth.

### Examples

- Our neighbour has two pet ferrets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x1)
- The ferret squeezed into the rabbit hole. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x2)
- Ferrets sleep for many hours a day. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x3)
- She ferreted around in her bag for her keys. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x4)
- The detective ferreted out the truth. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x5)
- A baby ferret is called a kit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x6)
- Let a woman alone, in the meantime, for ferreting or wheedling a secret out of her good man, when she wishes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/#x7)

### Note

Regular verb: ferreted. In New Zealand, ferrets are a pest that kills native birds, and keeping them as pets is not allowed.

## In Jewish tradition

The word is used for an unclean animal in the old translation, probably a wild creature of ruins; the exact animal is uncertain.

**Interpretation.** Isaiah pictures Babylon as a ruin where only wild animals live. Tradition reads this as a sign of total desolation after God's judgment.

### Examples

- But wild-cats shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of ferrets; and ostriches shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. (Prophets ISA.13.21, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/ferret/#x1)

### Note

Regular verb: ferreted. In New Zealand, ferrets are a pest that kills native birds, and keeping them as pets is not allowed.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «ferret» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/ferret/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ferret» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ferret.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «ferret» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/ferret/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«ferret» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/ferret.html) on Mova free.