seedling

[seed-ling]

noun

1. a plant or tree grown from a seed.

2. a tree not yet 3 feet (1 meter) high.

3. any young plant, especially one grown in a nursery for transplanting.

seedling

/ ˈsiːdlɪŋ /

noun

1. a very young plant produced from a seed

seedling

1. A young plant, especially one that grows from a seed rather than from a cutting.

2. See Note at germination

Word History and Origins

Origin of seedling¹

First recorded in 1650–60; seed + -ling ¹

Example Sentences

Once the grains germinated in a laboratory, the seedlings were planted in water in June, and harvesting began in early October.

Read more on Barron's

Now it’s graduation day, when native plants coaxed from seedling trays to 1-gallon pots stand ready for planting on the crossing itself this month.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Over this time trees adapted to the changing climate by migration - essentially seedlings growing further south as it got colder and further north during warming periods.

Read more on BBC

They were initially raised as seedlings in his mother's greenhouse, before he "chose the two better looking specimens", offering her the third one, he said.

Read more on BBC

Coconut fibers broken down by millipedes may serve as a sustainable replacement for peat moss, a material commonly used to start seedlings but often sourced from fragile wetland ecosystems.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• flower 
• grass 
• herb 
• shrub 
• tree 
• vine 
• weed