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Synonyms

seedling

American  
[seed-ling] / ˈsid lɪŋ /

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 British  
/ ˈsiːdlɪŋ /

noun

  1. a very young plant produced from a seed

"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
seedling Scientific  
/ sēd′lĭng /

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

  2. See Note at germination

Etymology

Origin of seedling

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

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.

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.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 22, 2025

Unlike a few of the seedling apples we’d tasted—some of which foragers evocatively call “spitters”—this was fruit I’d cut up to serve with thick slices of cheddar.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025

King Charles has been given the first seedling grown from the Sycamore Gap tree after it was illegally felled.

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

Hanako tried again, and her seedling didn’t stand straight, but it did stand straighter than her previous attempt.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

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.