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seed

SEED/siːd/

Pluralseeds

Verbseeds, seeding, seeded

22 meanings of seed

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A small, hard part produced by a plant, typically a fertilized ripened ovule containing an embryo, that can grow into a new plant; also, loosely, a small seedlike fruit such as those on a strawberry.

    Each seed contains everything needed to start a new plant.

    Botanists examined the seeds under a microscope to study the embryos.

    Note

    The botanist's narrow use, which rules out much of what a gardener sows. A tuber or a bulb holds no ripened ovule, and the tiny specks on a strawberry that everyday speech calls seeds are strictly small fruits, each with a seed inside. In a botany text, read the word in this strict way unless the context says otherwise.

  2. 2
    noununcountable
    Grains, kernels, tubers, bulbs or other plant parts taken collectively, in the quantities sown to raise crops or other plants.

    The catalog sells seed for vegetables, along with bulbs and tubers.

    Before spring, the farmer bought enough seed to plant forty acres of corn and a field of oats.

    UsageUsually a mass noun in farming and gardening: buy seed, a bag of grass seed, sow seed in spring.

    Note

    The farmer's and gardener's sense, and the root of all the rest: Old English sēd meant "that which is sown," from an Indo-European root meaning "to sow, throw." That origin explains the breadth. Whatever goes into the ground to raise a crop counts, so a tuber or bulb qualifies here, though it would fail the botanist's strict test.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

  3. 3
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A ranked position assigned to a competitor or team in a tournament draw, or the competitor or team holding that position.

    The third seed advanced after a tight five-set match.

    Commentators were stunned when the top seed crashed out early.

    UsageCommon phrases: the top seed, the number two seed. A player or team without one is unseeded.

  4. 4
    first sparknounfigurativelycountable
    An early source or beginning from which something much larger later grows.

    Like the first note that grows into a whole symphony.

    Her offhand remark became the seed of an entire novel.

    The strike was the seed of a much wider movement.

    UsageUsually the seed of something: the seed of an idea. A common phrase is plant the seed of doubt or hope.

    Similargerm

    Note

    The figurative use keeps the plant's promise of growth and drops the plant. Germ works the same way, though seed puts more weight on what will eventually grow.

  5. 5
    sow groundverbtransitive
    To plant or scatter seeds over an area of ground so that a crop or lawn takes hold.

    The farmer seeds the back acres with clover each fall.

    Volunteers seed the hillside to prevent erosion.

    UsageA common pattern is seed an area with a plant: seed a lawn with grass. Sow commonly takes the seeds as its object.

    Similarsow, plant

  6. 6
    assign rankingsverbtransitive
    To assign a competitor a ranked starting position in a tournament draw.

    The committee seeds teams according to their season records.

    Officials seed the top contenders to keep them apart early.

    UsageUsually passive with a number or position: be seeded third, seeded number one, the top-seeded team.

    Similarrank

    Note

    Seeding is the act of ranking entrants, and the word is also the ranking that results. The New York Times, writing from Wimbledon in 1979, complained about "the computer seeding" after clay-court experts stumbled on grass. Whoever does the seeding becomes the target when results go against it.

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The New York Times published the cited Wimbledon report in 1979. en.wiktionary.org
    • The report used the exact phrase “the computer seeding” while criticizing how clay-court experts performed on grass. en.wiktionary.org
  7. 7
    verbtransitive
    To start something off by supplying the initial resources, funding, or conditions it needs to develop.

    Angel investors seed startups long before they earn revenue.

    The foundation seeded the program with an initial donation.

    UsageOften seed something with money or resources: seed a project with a grant. Also seed data into a system.

    Similarfund, finance, bankroll, launch

  8. 8
    verbintransitive
    Of a plant, to produce seeds and shed them.

    Basil will seed quickly if you let it flower.

    Some bamboo species seed only once in many decades.

    UsageGardeners also say a plant goes to seed or runs to seed when it stops growing well and makes seeds.

Practice

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Origin

This word comes from Middle English seed, from Old English sēd or sǣd ("seed, that which is sown"), going back through Proto-Germanic *sēdą to the Proto-Indo-European root *seh₁- ("to sow, throw"). It is related to Dutch zaad, German Saat, Swedish säd, and Latin satiō ("seeding, time of sowing").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

  • Seed descends through Middle English and the stated Old English forms from Proto-Germanic *sēdą and Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-, with the stated meanings. archive.bukohome.com
  • Seed is related to Dutch zaad, German Saat, Swedish säd, and Latin satiō. archive.bukohome.com
  • Latin satiō means seeding or sowing, and sowing time. en.wiktionary.org