ferret out
phrasal verb
ferreted out; ferreting out; ferrets out
: to find (something, such as information) by careful searching
He's good at ferreting out the facts.
Examples of ferret out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But there is a long and occasionally contentious history of research into how body language empowers speakers, ferrets out liars or communicates social cues.
—
Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 14 June 2024
Your world has just become a film noir thriller as Mercury enters your secretive 8th house, magnifying your ability to read between the lines and ferret out the facts that might otherwise be hidden from view.
—Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 3 June 2024
Fox News first reported on the curious donation in 2023, but was unable to ferret out the donor's identity.
—Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 4 June 2024
All of the convictions occurred in Florida, Texas and Ohio, while units in Virginia, Georgia and Arkansas failed to obtain a single guilty verdict, despite allocating dozens of staffers and millions of dollars to ferret out voter fraud.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023
After Arthur Andersen’s demise, clients were forced to find new accounting firms—and the new auditors would have extra incentive to ferret out any wrongdoing.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 30 Nov. 2023
Right now, media-forensics specialists are racing to develop technologies to ferret out fakes.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Instead of prompting humility, this confusion has fed Western analysts’ and policymakers’ determination to ferret out the motives behind Russian behavior.
—Sam Greene, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2023
Most fire testing involves ferreting out faults in individual battery cells—something the industry, which makes millions of those cells each year for all kinds of energy applications, does well, explains Rein.
—Gregory Barber, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023
Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 14 June 2024
Your world has just become a film noir thriller as Mercury enters your secretive 8th house, magnifying your ability to read between the lines and ferret out the facts that might otherwise be hidden from view.
—Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 3 June 2024
Fox News first reported on the curious donation in 2023, but was unable to ferret out the donor's identity.
—Daniel Klaidman, CBS News, 4 June 2024
All of the convictions occurred in Florida, Texas and Ohio, while units in Virginia, Georgia and Arkansas failed to obtain a single guilty verdict, despite allocating dozens of staffers and millions of dollars to ferret out voter fraud.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023
After Arthur Andersen’s demise, clients were forced to find new accounting firms—and the new auditors would have extra incentive to ferret out any wrongdoing.
—Irina Ivanova, Fortune, 30 Nov. 2023
Right now, media-forensics specialists are racing to develop technologies to ferret out fakes.
—Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023
Instead of prompting humility, this confusion has fed Western analysts’ and policymakers’ determination to ferret out the motives behind Russian behavior.
—Sam Greene, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2023
Most fire testing involves ferreting out faults in individual battery cells—something the industry, which makes millions of those cells each year for all kinds of energy applications, does well, explains Rein.
—Gregory Barber, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ferret out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ferret out
Cite this Entry
“Ferret out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ferret%20out. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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