| / English Dictionary |
FERRET
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("ferret" is a kind of...):
fitch; foulmart; foumart; Mustela putorius; polecat (dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct
Synonyms:
black-footed ferret; ferret; Mustela nigripes
Classified under:
Nouns denoting animals
Hypernyms ("ferret" is a kind of...):
mustelid; musteline; musteline mammal (fissiped fur-bearing carnivorous mammals)
Holonyms ("ferret" is a member of...):
genus Mustela; Mustela (type genus of the family Mustelidae: minks and weasels)
Derivation:
ferret (hunt with ferrets)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they ferret ... he / she / it ferrets
Past simple: ferreted
Past participle: ferreted
-ing form: ferreting
Sense 1
Meaning:
Search and discover through persistent investigation
Example:
She ferreted out the truth
Synonyms:
ferret; ferret out
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "ferret" is one way to...):
discover; find (make a discovery)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Sense 2
Meaning:
Hunt with ferrets
Classified under:
Verbs of fighting, athletic activities
Hypernyms (to "ferret" is one way to...):
hunt; hunt down; run; track down (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals))
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
ferret (musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Hound or harry relentlessly
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "ferret" is one way to...):
hound; hunt; trace (pursue or chase relentlessly)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Context examples:
The ferrets experienced a protective effect from the antibodies after exposure to Bundibugyo ebolavirus.
(Antibodies from Ebola survivor protect mice and ferrets against related viruses, NIH)
The ferret is carnivorous and crepuscular, spending 14-18 hours a day sleeping.
(Ferret, NCI Thesaurus)
In the ferrets exposed to the Bundibugyo virus and treated with ADI-15742, the virus developed a single mutation that enabled it to escape the antibody’s effects.
(Antibodies from Ebola survivor protect mice and ferrets against related viruses, NIH)
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