Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To take care of (a young bird) until it is ready to fly.
- intransitive verb To cover with or as if with feathers.
- intransitive verb To provide (an arrow) with feathers.
- intransitive verb To grow the plumage necessary for flight.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Able to fly: having the wings developed for flight; fledged.
- To acquire feathers large enough for flight; in general, to acquire full plumage: often with out: as, the young birds have fledged out.
- To feather or provide with plumage; provide with anything resembling plumage.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly.
- verb To furnish with feathers; to supply with the feathers necessary for flight.
- verb To furnish or adorn with any soft covering.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb transitive To
care for a youngbird until it is capable offlight . - verb intransitive To
grow ,cover or be covered withfeathers . - verb transitive To
decorate with feathers.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb feed, care for, and rear young birds for flight
- verb grow feathers
- verb decorate with feathers
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Just as wild birds "fledge" - take their first flight - penguins take their first swim.
Edhat Santa Barbara 2009
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And then, we have kind of fledge factor on either side.
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Do you understand how rare it is to have eagles fledge three chicks?
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Firstly, it has already been reported that at least 14,000 Ivorians have crossed the border into Liberia, seeking refuge, as they fear the resumption of a full fledge civil war.
Charles Walker Brumskine: Resolving the Ivorian Election Crisis Charles Walker Brumskine 2011
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To have a population which historicaly numbered 72, have 60 pairs fledge three chicks is flabbergasting!!
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Do you understand how rare it is to have eagles fledge three chicks?
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Firstly, it has already been reported that at least 14,000 Ivorians have crossed the border into Liberia, seeking refuge, as they fear the resumption of a full fledge civil war.
Charles Walker Brumskine: Resolving the Ivorian Election Crisis Charles Walker Brumskine 2011
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If it is a deflagration the explosion propagates at subsonic velocity, as opposed to a full fledge detonation where there is a supersonic shock front.
Griffin - No Human Space Flight Review Needed - NASA Watch 2009
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Sadly, because we found our wine so late, and things have been hectic with a sick 9-month old here at the LENNDEVOURS world headquarters there wasn't time for a full-fledge review, meaning that I didn't taste it blind or even pull my notebook out.
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There are manly love songs (like the mid-tempo "Heartache That Don't Stop Hurting," stopped from being a full-fledge weeper only by Aldean's limited range).
Album review: Jason Aldean, "My Kinda Party" Allison Stewart 2010
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