Illustration of seedling
- 1 primary root
- 2 rootlet
- 3 root hairs
- 4 hypocotyl
- 5 cotyledon
- 6 epicotyl
- 7 true leaf
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
Examples of seedling in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When crowded, seedlings compete for water, nutrition, light, and space. —
Heather Zidack, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026 This year, for the first time, the conservancy wanted to dig up native seedlings to nurture the trees in their nursery and replant them in the forest to better their chances of survival. —ABC News, 25 Apr. 2026 Right beside them, the Chicago Botanic Garden, a partner with the Obama Foundation on the center’s Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, hosted a bracelet-making station for kids and provided 300 seedlings for the Earth Day event. —Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026 Once the plants are past the initial seedling stage and begin to grow large leaves and stems, rabbits are unlikely to munch on them. —Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 25 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for seedling
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Heather Zidack, Hartford Courant, 26 Apr. 2026 This year, for the first time, the conservancy wanted to dig up native seedlings to nurture the trees in their nursery and replant them in the forest to better their chances of survival. —ABC News, 25 Apr. 2026 Right beside them, the Chicago Botanic Garden, a partner with the Obama Foundation on the center’s Eleanor Roosevelt Fruit and Vegetable Garden, hosted a bracelet-making station for kids and provided 300 seedlings for the Earth Day event. —Eva Remijan-Toba, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026 Once the plants are past the initial seedling stage and begin to grow large leaves and stems, rabbits are unlikely to munch on them. —Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 25 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for seedling
Cite this Entry
“Seedling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/seedling. Accessed 29 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
seedling
noun
seed·ling ˈsēd-liŋ 
1
: a young plant grown from seed
2
: a tree before it becomes a sapling
seedling adjective
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