fledgling

[ flej-ling ]
See synonyms for fledgling on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a young bird just fledged.

  2. an inexperienced person.

adjective
  1. young, new, or inexperienced: a fledgling diver.

Origin of fledgling

1
First recorded in 1820–30; fledge + -ling1
  • Also especially British, fledge·ling .

Other words for fledgling

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fledgling in a sentence

  • Luke is, doubtless, the stray rook, and a fledgeling hath flown hither from a distant country.

    Rookwood | William Harrison Ainsworth
  • One of the ducks taken in this way was a mother with a fledgeling.

    North-Pole Voyages | Zachariah Atwell Mudge
  • She was no innocent fledgeling, nor was her knowledge purchased with sacrifice.

    The Vision of Elijah Berl | Frank Lewis Nason
  • The knowing bird is not caught in the snare, and I, Dilasah, am not a fledgeling.

    Barclay of the Guides | Herbert Strang
  • A foal is an immature horse, a chicken an immature fowl, a calf an immature ox, a fledgeling an immature bird.

    The Esperanto Teacher | Helen Fryer

British Dictionary definitions for fledgling

fledgling

fledgeling

/ (ˈflɛdʒlɪŋ) /


noun
  1. a young bird that has just fledged

    • a young and inexperienced or untried person, organization or system

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for fledgling

fledgling

[ flĕjlĭng ]


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

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.