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/

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[intransitive] fossick (through something) to search through something（在…中）搜寻，查找
- He spent ages fossicking through the documents.他花了老半天时间在那些文件中搜寻。
[intransitive] to search for gold in mines that are no longer used（在废矿中）淘金

Word Originmid 19th cent. (referring to mining): probably from the English dialect sense ‘obtain by asking’ (i.e. “ferret out”).