seedling

noun seed·ling \ ˈsēd-liŋ \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Definition of seedling

1 : a young plant grown from seed

2 a : a young tree before it becomes a sapling

b : a nursery plant not yet transplanted

—

seedling

adjective

See seedling defined for English-language learners

See seedling defined for kids

Recent Examples of seedling from the Web

Skilled planters can drop more than 7,000 seedlings in a day, earning hundreds of dollars a day over the four-month planting season.

— luc forsyth, National Geographic, "For Cash and Pride, Replanting Canada's Forests by the Millions," 8 June 2018
Any ornamental pear should not be planted, all seedlings should be eradicated and mature trees phased out.

— ellen nibali, baltimoresun.com, "Garden Q&A: Bradford pears should now be considered an invasive trash tree," 3 May 2018
The farmer replaced them with 500 seedlings of Hass avocados – for which there is now huge export demand – and today makes nearly $4,000 a year from his harvest.

— caroline wambui, The Christian Science Monitor, "Kenyan farmers swap coffee for avocados to tap into global boom," 6 July 2018
The errors that his forebears made in managing the family farmland are represented by red dots placed on one photograph; on the other, seedlings planted to correct the situation are shown as vertical red lines.

— susan delson, WSJ, "In Denver, Landscapes Soaked, Digitized and Irradiated," 8 June 2018
Laws vary from province to province; in British Columbia, for example, three seedlings must be planted for each mature stem harvested.

— luc forsyth, National Geographic, "For Cash and Pride, Replanting Canada's Forests by the Millions," 8 June 2018
Vegetable seedlings planted now will start producing a month or six weeks sooner than vegetables planted from seed.

— nan sterman, latimes.com, "For SoCal gardeners, a June gloom tipsheet," 31 May 2018
Half of Hawaii’s native plant species are endangered and cannot be shipped across state lines, but NYBG partnered with the National Tropical Botanical Garden in Hawaii to obtain cuttings and seedlings of the plants that could be legally transported.

— brigit katz, Smithsonian, "See Georgia O’Keeffe’s Little-Known Hawaii Paintings Blossom Next to Real Plants," 30 May 2018
Warmer temperatures prompt rapid growth, making it an excellent time to transplant seedlings as well as sow seeds.

— debbie arrington, sacbee, "Want summer veggies? Get to work | The Sacramento Bee," 5 May 2018

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

Illustration of seedling

First Known Use of seedling

1660

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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SEEDLING Defined for English Language Learners

seedling

noun

Definition of seedling for English Language Learners

: a young plant that is grown from seed

SEEDLING Defined for Kids

seedling

noun seed·ling \ ˈsēd-liŋ \

Definition of seedling for Students

1 : a young plant grown from seed

2 : a young tree before it becomes a sapling

Learn More about seedling

Spanish Central: Translation of seedling Nglish: Translation of seedling for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of seedling for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about seedling

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seedling

Definition of seedling

seedling

Recent Examples of seedling from the Web

Illustration of seedling

First Known Use of seedling

SEEDLING Defined for English Language Learners

seedling

Definition of seedling for English Language Learners

SEEDLING Defined for Kids

seedling

Definition of seedling for Students

Learn More about seedling

Seen and Heard

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seedling

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seedling

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seedling

Definition of seedling for English Language Learners

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seedling

Definition of seedling for Students

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