noun
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a young bird that has just fledged
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Etymology
Origin of fledgling
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.
Vocabulary lists containing fledgling
Words of a Feather: Unflappable Avian Vocabulary
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I'm New Here...
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The Secret Garden
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Launched five years ago, Anthropic is a relative fledgling compared to other companies going public.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
But as trading relationships began opening back up through the first half of the decade, fledgling pistachio growers in the U.S. took issue with the volume and low price of Iranian pistachio imports.
From Salon • May 6, 2026
Musk has made a number of admissions regarding his fledgling AI company, xAI.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Tools for Self Reliance, based in Netley Marsh, Hampshire, collects and refurbishes equipment no longer needed in the UK and sends it abroad to help fledgling businesses.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
This was the most important way he kept himself informed about the hundreds of things happening in the fledgling nation.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
