seedling
Americannoun
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a plant or tree grown from a seed.
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a tree not yet 3 feet (1 meter) high.
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any young plant, especially one grown in a nursery for transplanting.
noun
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A young plant, especially one that grows from a seed rather than from a cutting.
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See Note at germination
Etymology
Origin of seedling
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.
During apple season, neighbors drop barrels of seedling apples on the lawn for Kaiser’s experiments.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
It’s the seedling of a vision the corps dreamt up just a few years ago.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 10, 2024
Once the seedling has matured into a sapling, it will be planted in Windsor Great Park.
From BBC • May 27, 2024
This makes it more likely for the plant seedling to encounter the fungi it needs for its own sustenance, the researchers argue.
From Science Daily • May 8, 2024
I wrote Winnie two letters about a particularly beautiful tomato plant, how I coaxed it from a tender seedling to a robust plant that produced deep red fruit.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
