to ferret out
13
6.7
- phrasal verb
- /ˈfɛrɪt aʊt/
- Informal
:
averiguar
- To ferret out this corruption wherever it may exist.
- ferreted out the truth
They're also trying to ferret out this network of traders, merchanders who are supplying the Maslani fleet.
- They're also trying to ferret out this network of traders, merchanders who are supplying the Maslani fleet.
- That's the research that is what they ferreted out in the research was the most legitimate and best way to proceed is, is what you did.
- One is ferreting it out, trying to cause the body to trigger to release, you know, the kind of stored HIV by kind of shocking it and, and, and ferreting it out.
Examples
-
To have students do the research and ferret out the costs for common things and services.
Academic text (2008) -
The police, courts like to note, are engaged in the "competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime."
Academic text (2018) -
We'll ferret out any criminal here, sir.
-
My department has given me the assignment to ferret out the source.
-
"And he's invited me to ferret out that evidence, if I can."
Fiction book (1993) -
Are there any other, any other approaches you use to ferret out weaknesses?
-
Religious groups often assist the state in ferreting out and repressing counterrevolutionary elements.
Academic text (1990) -
Within a month, Bell ferreted out the telltale markings of a second suspicious source.
Academic text (2001) -
I need you to discretely infiltrate the cadets, see if you can ferret out which of them may have a connection to the occult.
-
The journalist worked tirelessly to ferret out the truth behind the scandal.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To discover something while looking or by accident
∞
2.1
To learn something you did not know, often by searching or asking
∞
1.0
To try to find something or someone by looking carefully
∞
2.8
To look carefully at something to find facts
573
2.8
Examine something carefully to find out more
478
1.0
To make secret information known to other people
212
3.3
To search for someone or something until you find them
190
1.2
To look carefully for something or someone
155
3.0
To find something while searching or by chance
148
3.9
Search for and find someone or something after a lot of effort
137
3.9
Find the real reason for a problem by checking carefully
122
3.0
Look for and find a person or thing, often with effort
70
3.7
To look at something carefully, often by searching under the surface
57
5.1
To search a place carefully to find someone or something
43
4.4
Search carefully to find hidden facts or details
35
5.1
To ask careful questions to find hidden information
23
4.4
To find hidden facts or things by careful searching
21
3.4
Find and take out something that is hidden or forgotten
15
6.2
To search carefully for a long time to find hidden information
14
8.4
To find out what is happening by looking for facts and clues
8
8.2
To find out what is really happening
4
4.4
To think hard to find the answer to a difficult problem
3
6.5
To look for information quietly by following clues
1
6.9
Find something after careful searching
To search carefully through things in a small place like a bag or box
To find something after a careful search
Find something after searching carefully
Antonyms
How Persistent
21
3.9
- Informal
13
6.7
- Informal
70
3.7
∞
2.8
∞
1.0
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Given the provided definitions, 'ferret' (to search thoroughly) combined with the particle 'out' (to expose/reveal) yields a directly compositional meaning: to search persistently and bring something hidden into the open. This follows a common English verb+particle pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent meanings.
Etymology
Ferret out comes from the small animal ferret, which hunters used to send into holes to find and bring animals out. The image of a ferret going into tight places and pulling things out explains why ferret out means 'to search for and discover' something hidden or hard to find.