yearling
Americannoun
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an animal in its second year.
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a horse one year old, dating from January 1 of the year after the year of foaling.
adjective
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being a year old.
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of a year's duration or standing.
a yearling bride.
noun
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the young of any of various animals, including the antelope and buffalo, between one and two years of age
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a thoroughbred racehorse counted for racing purposes as being one year old until the second Jan 1 following its birth
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a bond that is intended to mature after one year
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( as modifier )
yearling bonds
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adjective
Etymology
Origin of yearling
1425–75; late Middle English; see year, -ling 1; cognate with German Jährling
Explanation
A yearling is a young horse, older than a foal but not yet two years old. Yearlings are generally too young to ride. While the word yearling usually refers to a filly or a colt — a horse between the ages of one and two, of either sex — you can use it to talk about any animal of that age. It might sound a little funny, but go ahead and describe your one year old cat as a yearling. The word combines year, from the Old English gear, and the diminutive suffix -ling, which is often used in words describing young animals, like gosling and duckling.
Vocabulary lists containing yearling
War Horse
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Shout
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This Week In Culture: November 9–15, 2019
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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.
As a yearling, the colt didn’t meet his reserve price of $95,000, so Kahn and Hidden Brook pointed him to a 2-year-old in training sale last year at Ocala.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
Jacqui Short Boyce spotted the yearling lying on its back while passing by the field on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
When Flag is on the verge of becoming a yearling, Jody’s father says, “He’ll be like a person standin’ on the state line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
The yearling would have barely made a sound as she trotted through brush and dry pine needles on an overgrown path that dropped into a steep canyon.
From National Geographic ● Aug. 25, 2023
Before they had reached the Belt, Groundsel’s party was attacked by a pair of stoats, one old and the other a yearling.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
