To *fossick* means to search, especially for gold, gems, or other valuable materials, often in a haphazard or persistent manner. The act implies a thorough, exploratory, and sometimes illicit quest, typically involving the inspection of waste, debris, or neglected areas. It suggests a determined rummaging, examining, and turning over of objects in pursuit of hidden treasures or forgotten finds. The term evokes images of prospectors sifting through riverbeds or treasure hunters scouring ruins, hoping to unearth something of value. The activity can also extend to the searching for information or anything considered of merit.
Fossicked meaning with examples
- The old prospector fossicked through the creek bed for hours, his weathered hands meticulously sifting the gravel, hoping to strike gold and make his fortune in the wilderness, seeking a fortune from the earth.
- After the storm, the children fossicked through the beach, collecting seashells and interesting pieces of driftwood, happy to find treasure on the shoreline, collecting nature’s bounty.
- The journalist fossicked through the archives, desperately seeking the missing documents that would unlock the secret, looking for hidden truth amongst many words, on a journey of discovery.
- During the house cleanout, we fossicked through the attic, unearthing old photographs and forgotten keepsakes of family history, on a hunt for nostalgia and memory.
- The software developer fossicked through lines of code, desperately seeking the cause of the glitch and desperately trying to eradicate the problem, looking for a needle in a digital haystack.