Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun ferret

2 senses of ferret

Sense 1
black-footed ferret, ferret, Mustela nigripes -- (musteline mammal of prairie regions of United States; nearly extinct)
       => musteline mammal, mustelid, musteline -- (fissiped fur-bearing carnivorous mammals)

Sense 2
ferret -- (domesticated albino variety of the European polecat bred for hunting rats and rabbits)
       => polecat, fitch, foulmart, foumart, Mustela putorius -- (dark brown mustelid of woodlands of Eurasia that gives off an unpleasant odor when threatened)

Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb ferret

3 senses of ferret

Sense 1
ferret -- (hound or harry relentlessly)
       => hound, hunt, trace -- (pursue or chase relentlessly; "The hunters traced the deer into the woods"; "the detectives hounded the suspect until they found him")

Sense 2
ferret -- (hunt with ferrets)
       => hunt, run, hunt down, track down -- (pursue for food or sport (as of wild animals); "Goering often hunted wild boars in Poland"; "The dogs are running deer"; "The Duke hunted in these woods")

Sense 3
ferret out, ferret -- (search and discover through persistent investigation; "She ferreted out the truth")
       => discover, find -- (make a discovery; "She found that he had lied to her"; "The story is false, so far as I can discover")