fossick
verb /ˈfɒsɪk/
/ˈfɑːsɪk/
(Australian English, New Zealand English, informal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they fossick | /ˈfɒsɪk/ /ˈfɑːsɪk/ |
| he / she / it fossicks | /ˈfɒsɪks/ /ˈfɑːsɪks/ |
| past simple fossicked | /ˈfɒsɪkt/ /ˈfɑːsɪkt/ |
| past participle fossicked | /ˈfɒsɪkt/ /ˈfɑːsɪkt/ |
| -ing form fossicking | /ˈfɒsɪkɪŋ/ /ˈfɑːsɪkɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive] fossick (through something) to search through something
- He spent ages fossicking through the documents.
- [intransitive] to search for gold in mines that are no longer used
Word Originmid 19th cent. (referring to mining): probably from the English dialect sense ‘obtain by asking’ (i.e. “ferret out”).