noun

• An early stage of growth for some insects and amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish.
• An animal in the aforementioned stage.
• A form of a recently born or hatched animal that is quite different from its adult stage.
• (figurative) A preliminary stage of someone or something, before it has fully matured, especially a time of growth rather than one of performance.