fledgling

American  

[flej-ling] / ˈflɛdʒ lɪŋ /

especially British, fledgeling

noun

fledglings plural

1. a young bird just fledged.

2. an inexperienced person.

   Synonyms:

   greenhorn, freshman, beginner, tyro, novice

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adjective

1. young, new, or inexperienced.

   a fledgling diver.

fledgling British  

/ ˈflɛdʒlɪŋ /

noun

1. a young bird that has just fledged

2. 1. a young and inexperienced or untried person, organization or system

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fledgling Scientific  

/ flĕj′lĭng /

1. A young bird that has just grown the feathers needed to fly and is capable of surviving outside the nest.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fledglings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fledgling

First recorded in 1820–30; fledge + -ling ¹

Explanation

A fledgling is a fuzzy baby bird just learning to fly, or someone (like a baby bird) who's brand new at doing something. Awww. If you're not talking about a baby bird, fledgling is often used as an adjective describing a new participant in something, like a fledgling senator still learning the ropes of how to legislate, or a fledgling drama program trying to build audiences for its plays. It can also mean inexperienced and young, like the fledgling photographer for the school paper who accidentally erases all the pictures. If you're British, spell it fledgeling if you like — both spellings are correct.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fledgling fledglings

Suwa nevertheless instilled in the fledgling ballerina a discipline and rigor that would carry Morishita through her career.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Monday's turnout reflected how quickly the movement has grown since its first protest in June, when the movement was little more than a fledgling online campaign.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

There’s a lot of bad crowd work out there, just like there is bad anything else — fledgling or whatever rookie stuff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

The end of the Revolutionary War meant the fledgling U.S. no longer had the protection of Great Britain’s Royal Navy, the largest fleet in the world.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

A mama robin hops after her fledgling, her offering of food dangling from her beak.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Their fledglings are about one third lighter, even though the warmest days they experience reach similar temperatures of about 16-17ºC.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2026

The early seeds of Owens Viani’s work on the issue began around 2011, when a neighbor ran over to tell her that Cooper’s hawk fledglings had drowned in his kiddie pool.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2024

Birdhouse owners say that they wait until the fledglings have left the nest before they harvest and that neither the parents nor their babies are harmed.

From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2024

Spoonbill fledglings at a nature reserve are believed to be the first known breeding success in the Norfolk Broads for about 400 years.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2023

Without the fledglings to feed she grew heavier, but weight alone was not enough to start her migrating.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Related Words

• chick
• nestling