nestling

noun

nest·​ling ˈnest-liŋ How to pronounce nestling (audio)
: a young bird that has not left the nest

Examples of nestling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But Scotland did come away with a moment to remember just three minutes from time when substitute Scott McKenna headed Andy Robertson’s long free kick towards goal, taking a deflection off Rüdiger and nestling in the back of the net. Matias Grez, CNN, 14 June 2024 One upshot of that was an increase in the number of complete nest failures in which every single nestling in a nest died. Lee Alan Dugatkin, Scientific American, 14 May 2024 In the nests that the team monitored, parrotlets killed or wounded nestlings and eggs at 256 sites. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 8 May 2024 The unsuspecting vireo will then raise the cowbird chicks, which grow faster than its own and outcompete the vireo nestlings for food. Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for nestling 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nestling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nestling was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near nestling

Cite this Entry

“Nestling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nestling. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.

Kids Definition

nestling

noun
nest·​ling ˈnest-liŋ How to pronounce nestling (audio)
: a young bird not yet able to leave the nest

More from Merriam-Webster on nestling

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