fledge

/flɛdʒ/
verb
  1. (of a young bird) to grow the feathers needed for flying.
    • The baby robins will fledge in about two weeks.
    • It takes several weeks for an eagle chick to fledge.
    • We watched the sparrows fledge and leave the nest one by one.
  2. To raise a young bird until it is fully feathered and able to fly.
    • They built a special enclosure to fledge the young falcons.
    • The mother bird fledged her chicks with great care.
    • The sanctuary fledges dozens of rescued owls each year.
  3. To develop or grow to a mature or independent state.
    • Her talent as a writer took years to fledge.
    • The startup is beginning to fledge into a successful company.
    • The program helps young adults fledge into independent members of society.
What does "fledge" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean