often attributive
1
: a young bird just fledged (see fledge sense 1)
a bird feeding her fledglings
2
: an immature or inexperienced person
fledgling medical students
3
: one that is new
a fledgling company
Examples of fledgling in a Sentence
a female bird feeding her fledglings
at hockey he's still a fledgling and needs to work on his basic skating skills
Recent Examples on the Web
In a blow to the fledgling environmental movement, however, a report by Nixon’s science adviser, Lee DuBridge, called for more drilling, not less.
—
Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Richardson does a good job of situating the fledgling Rolling Stone on the cultural landscape of San Francisco that bracketed the Summer of Love (1967, the year the magazine launched).
—James Sullivan, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026
Evidence of Hurricane Michael’s destruction in 2018 can still be seen in the fledgling sweetgum, magnolia, oak, and hickory trees sprouting with new growth.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2026
Reportedly shunned by festivals like Sundance and SXSW last year and ignored by distributors, this provocative chamber drama finally gets a theatrical release from a fledgling shingle, Obscured Releasing, this spring.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fledgling
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Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
Richardson does a good job of situating the fledgling Rolling Stone on the cultural landscape of San Francisco that bracketed the Summer of Love (1967, the year the magazine launched).
—James Sullivan, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026
Evidence of Hurricane Michael’s destruction in 2018 can still be seen in the fledgling sweetgum, magnolia, oak, and hickory trees sprouting with new growth.
—Carrie Honaker, Travel + Leisure, 3 Apr. 2026
Reportedly shunned by festivals like Sundance and SXSW last year and ignored by distributors, this provocative chamber drama finally gets a theatrical release from a fledgling shingle, Obscured Releasing, this spring.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fledgling
Cite this Entry
“Fledgling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fledgling. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fledgling
noun
fledg·ling
ˈflej-liŋ 
1
: a young bird just fledged
2
: an immature or inexperienced person
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