ferret

Universal Words noun, verb noun a small fierce animal with a long thin body, kept for chasing rabbits from their holes, killing rats, etc. verb 1 [V+adv./prep.] ~ (about / around) (for sth) (informal) to search for sth that is lost or hidden among a lot of things: She opened the drawer and ferreted around for her keys. 2 [V] to hunt rabbits, rats, etc. using ferrets PHRASALVERBS ferret sb/sth<->out (informal) to discover information or to find sb/sth by searching thoroughly, asking a lot of questions, etc: He is determined to ferret out the truth about what happened.