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 return, prosecutors allege, Thao promised to secure lucrative city contracts for a fledgling housing company co-founded by David Duong and Juarez, as well as for the Duongs’ recycling firm, California Waste Solutions.
—
Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026
The infusion of money could put Waymo further ahead in the growing field of robot taxi companies, such as Amazon’s Zoox and Elon Musk’s fledgling Tesla robot taxi service.
—Natallie Rocha, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Her husband, Jim, gave up on his fledgling handyman business and started looking for a job with insurance coverage.
—Renuka Rayasam, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2026
Beshear’s not-yet-candidacy, still in the fledgling phase, offers a mix of aspiration and admonition.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fledgling
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Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2026
The infusion of money could put Waymo further ahead in the growing field of robot taxi companies, such as Amazon’s Zoox and Elon Musk’s fledgling Tesla robot taxi service.
—Natallie Rocha, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
Her husband, Jim, gave up on his fledgling handyman business and started looking for a job with insurance coverage.
—Renuka Rayasam, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2026
Beshear’s not-yet-candidacy, still in the fledgling phase, offers a mix of aspiration and admonition.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 Feb. 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 15 Feb. 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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