fledge

\ ˈflej

How to pronounce fledge (audio)

\

fledged; fledging

Definition of fledge

intransitive verb

of a young bird : to acquire the feathers necessary for flight or independent activity also : to leave the nest after acquiring such feathers

transitive verb

1 : to rear until ready for flight or independent activity

2 : to cover with or as if with feathers or down

3 : to furnish (something) with feathers feather an arrow

Examples of fledge in a Sentence

The young birds haven't yet fledged.

Recent Examples on the Web The older birds seem to understand the timeline needed for their young to fledge and forgo breeding in late spring years. — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, "A snowy winter makes for a challenging spring for birds and animals in Alaska’s Interior," 11 Apr. 2020 Baby hummingbirds can take between four and six weeks to fledge or grow feathers big enough to fly. — Erin Stone, azcentral, "A hummingbird in way of a looming roofing project safely flies the nest," 3 Apr. 2020 At about four months old, the chick becomes a fledging and is ready to leave the nest. — National Geographic, "White-backed vulture," 24 Mar. 2020 Back in the 1970s, a fledging delivery company called Federal Express made Memphis their headquarters, and a few years later Charlie Vergos and his son Nick started shipping ribs nationwide via overnight air. — Robert Moss, Southern Living, "8 Ways to Satisfy Your Barbecue Cravings by Mail," 17 Apr. 2020 Last year, the trio hatched and fledged three eaglets. — Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Eagle trio along Mississippi River captures online attention, but they might not be viewable for much longer," 5 Mar. 2020 Our goal is to go full-fledged over all 10 of them. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Sprinter wins for Britain and college star takes hurdles," 2 Oct. 2019 Hummingbird nestlings take between two and four weeks to fledge, or grow feathers big enough to start flying. — Erin Stone, azcentral, "A Phoenix woman wants to save a baby hummingbird. Her HOA may not let her," 26 Mar. 2020 The following spring, Starr laid and hatched two eggs, one of which successfully fledged. — Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Eagle trio along Mississippi River captures online attention, but they might not be viewable for much longer," 5 Mar. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fledge.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about fledge

Dictionary Entries near fledge

Statistics for fledge

Last Updated

11 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Fledge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fledge. Accessed 3 Jun. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

May 2020 Words of the Day Quiz

Which is a synonym of exiguous?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.