often attributive
1
: a young bird just fledged (see fledge sense 1)
a female bird feeding her fledglings
2
: an immature or inexperienced person
fledgling medical students
3
: one that is new
a fledgling company
Synonyms
Examples of fledgling in a Sentence
a female bird feeding her fledglings
at hockey he's still a fledgling and needs to work on his basic skating skills
Recent Examples on the Web
Some Syrians fear that Israel is taking advantage of Syria's fledgling government to make a land grab.
—
Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR, 23 Jan. 2025
Some species of birds will feign a broken wing to draw a predator away from their fledglings.
—Harvey Whitehouse, WIRED, 23 Jan. 2025
The others feasted partly with the help of expansion years, slapping around fledgling Blazers and Raptors.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
The Celtics shut down Golden State’s fledgling, short-handed offense in a commanding 125-85 victory over the Warriors at Chase Center.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for fledgling 
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Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR, 23 Jan. 2025
Some species of birds will feign a broken wing to draw a predator away from their fledglings.
—Harvey Whitehouse, WIRED, 23 Jan. 2025
The others feasted partly with the help of expansion years, slapping around fledgling Blazers and Raptors.
—John Hollinger, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
The Celtics shut down Golden State’s fledgling, short-handed offense in a commanding 125-85 victory over the Warriors at Chase Center.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for fledgling
Articles Related to fledgling
Dictionary Entries Near fledgling
Cite this Entry
“Fledgling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fledgling. Accessed 29 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fledgling
noun
fledg·ling
ˈflej-liŋ 
1
: a young bird just fledged
2
: an immature or inexperienced person
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