From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_095_aferretfer‧ret1 /ˈferɪt/ noun [countable] 
HBAa small animal with a pointed nose, used to hunt rats and rabbits
HBAa small animal with a pointed nose, used to hunt rats and rabbitsExamples from the Corpus
ferret• Ferrets die: Two ferrets died when fire swept through a garden shed in Ilkley Grove, Hartlepool.• After a few days its rightful owner came to collect it and informed her that it was in fact a ferret.• The result is that the growing ferrets show no shyness to human contact.• In 1973, a small group of ferrets discovered in South Dakota were captured for a propagation program.• Take your pick A compartmental ferret-box - the ferrets sitting placidly.• None of this matters at all provided the ferrets work efficiently.• The white ferret, for example, is more visible, while the polecat is less so.ferretferret2 verb [intransitive] 1 [always + adverb/preposition] informalLOOK FOR to search for something that is lost or hidden among a lot of things or inside a drawer, box etcferret around/round/about He started ferreting around in his desk.ferret for She ferreted in her bag for a pen.2 CATCHto hunt rats and rabbits using a ferret → ferret somebody/something ↔ out→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
ferret• So it wouldn't have just been insurance investigators ferreting about - it would have been the world's press as well.• It would have been a sad disappointment to anyone ferreting in the top drawer of his desk.• To ferret out only whole words, press the spacebar once before and once after typing the search word.• It has one reporter who does nothing but ferret out supposed left-wing involvement in the membership of any organization the Tribune dislikes.• Thank goodness for the debunkers like Hymes who ferret out the frauds and expose the poseurs.• The opponents also wanted to ferret out the guilty, but they insisted that the rights protected.• Fortunately, archaeology breeds rebels who care for nothing but ferreting out the truth.ferret around/round/about• Male speaker It's all over now although the papers are still ferreting around.• The reporters keep on ferreting around.• Some people carry their ferrets around in bags or sacks.• The very next day I started ferreting around in the woods and came upon the most magnificent fortress of a sett.• So it wouldn't have just been insurance investigators ferreting about - it would have been the world's press as well.Origin ferret1 (1300-1400) Old French furet, from Latin fur “thief” 