often attributive
1
: a young bird just fledged (see fledge sense 1)
a female 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
But Tucson and Flagstaff are also seeing fledgling technology companies based around the defense and aerospace industries.
—
Sasha Hupka, AZCentral.com, 3 Oct. 2025
When Risher decided to leave the tech giant to join the fledgling online retailer, Gates himself sent an email and called him into his office.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
This revived Colapinto’s F1 fledgling career, as Williams had no race seats for 2025 with Carlos Sainz coming aboard.
—Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
When Payzant left San Diego Unified in 1993 to become an assistant secretary in the fledgling Clinton administration’s Department of Education, the school board bypassed a national search and quickly appointed Pendleton his successor.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for fledgling
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Sasha Hupka, AZCentral.com, 3 Oct. 2025
When Risher decided to leave the tech giant to join the fledgling online retailer, Gates himself sent an email and called him into his office.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 1 Oct. 2025
This revived Colapinto’s F1 fledgling career, as Williams had no race seats for 2025 with Carlos Sainz coming aboard.
—Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
When Payzant left San Diego Unified in 1993 to become an assistant secretary in the fledgling Clinton administration’s Department of Education, the school board bypassed a national search and quickly appointed Pendleton his successor.
—Jemma Stephenson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Sep. 2025
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 Oct. 2025.
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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