the fertilized, matured ovule of a flowering plant, containing an embryo or rudimentary plant.
any propagative part of a plant, including tubers, bulbs, etc., especially as preserved for growing a new crop.
such parts collectively.
any similar small part or fruit.
Dialect. pit.
the germ or propagative source of anything.
the seeds of discord.
offspring; progeny.
birth.
not of mortal seed.
sperm; semen.
the ovum or ova of certain animals, as the lobster and the silkworm moth.
a small air bubble in a glass piece, caused by defective firing.
Crystallography, Chemistry. a small crystal added to a solution to promote crystallization.
Tennis. a player who has been seeded in a tournament.
to sow (a field, lawn, etc.) with seed.
to sow or scatter (seed).
to sow or scatter (clouds) with crystals or particles of silver iodide, solid carbon dioxide, etc., to induce precipitation.
to place, introduce, etc., especially in the hope of increase or profit.
to seed a lake with trout.
to sprinkle on (a surface, substance, etc.) in the manner of seed.
to seed an icy bridge with chemicals.
to remove the seeds from (fruit).
Sports.
to arrange (the drawings for positions in a tournament) so that ranking players or teams will not meet in the early rounds of play.
to distribute (ranking players or teams) in this manner.
to develop or stimulate (a business, project, etc.), especially by providing operating capital.
to sow seed.
to produce or shed seed.
of or producing seed; used for seed.
a seed potato.
being or providing capital for the initial stages of a new business or other enterprise.
The research project began with seed donations from the investors.
go / run to seed,
(of the flower of a plant) to pass to the stage of yielding seed.
to lose vigor, power, or prosperity; deteriorate.
He has gone to seed in the last few years.
in seed,
(of certain plants) in the state of bearing ripened seeds.
(of a field, a lawn, etc.) sown with seed.
botany a mature fertilized plant ovule, consisting of an embryo and its food store surrounded by a protective seed coat (testa)
the small hard seedlike fruit of plants such as wheat
(loosely) any propagative part of a plant, such as a tuber, spore, or bulb
such parts collectively
the source, beginning, or germ of anything
the seeds of revolt
Bible offspring or descendants
the seed of Abraham
sport a seeded player
the egg cell or cells of the lobster and certain other animals
See seed oyster
chem a small crystal added to a supersaturated solution or supercooled liquid to induce crystallization
(of plants) to produce and shed seeds
to lose vigour, usefulness, etc
to plant (seeds, grain, etc) in (soil)
we seeded this field with oats
(intr) (of plants) to form or shed seeds
(tr) to remove the seeds from (fruit, etc)
(tr) chem to add a small crystal to (a supersaturated solution or supercooled liquid) in order to cause crystallization
(tr) to scatter certain substances, such as silver iodide, in (clouds) in order to cause rain
(tr)
to arrange (the draw of a tournament) so that outstanding teams or players will not meet in the early rounds
to distribute (players or teams) in this manner
A mature fertilized ovule of angiosperms and gymnosperms that contains an embryo and the food it will need to grow into a new plant. Seeds provide a great reproductive advantage in being able to survive for extended periods until conditions are favorable for germination and growth. The seeds of gymnosperms (such as the conifers) develop on scales of cones or similar structures, while the seeds of angiosperms are enclosed in an ovary that develops into a fruit, such as a pome or nut. The structure of seeds varies somewhat. All seeds are enclosed in a protective seed coat. In certain angiosperms the embryo is enclosed in or attached to an endosperm, a tissue that it uses as a food source either before or during germination. All angiosperm embryos also have at least one cotyledon. The first seed-bearing plants emerged at least 365 million years ago in the late Devonian Period. Many angiosperms have evolved specific fruits for dispersal of seeds by the wind, water, or animals.
See more at germination ovule
To plant seeds in soil.
To initiate rainfall or to generate additional rainfall by artificially increasing the precipitation efficiency of clouds.
See more at cloud seeding
before 900; (noun) Middle English sede, side, seed ( e ), Old English sēd, sǣd; cognate with German Saat, Old Norse sāth, Gothic -seths; (v.) Middle English seden to produce seeds, derivative of the noun; akin to sow 1
A seed is basically a baby plant — it's the way plants reproduce. One tiny sunflower seed can potentially grow into a sunflower that's ten feet tall. Some seeds are just a tiny speck, others a small pod, and still others a cluster inside a fruit. As a verb, seed means "remove the seeds from," so you can seed a lemon or a pomegranate (and in the latter case, you can then eat the seeds you've seeded). You also seed when you scatter seeds in a garden. Figuratively, seed is often used to mean "provide money to start a business" or "help something grow."
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It might take a little time for the $1,000 seed money to show up in some cases, financial advisers say.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
There have now been 7 million sign-ups, and 1.7 million of those accounts are eligible for the $1,000 in seed money, according to fresh figures from the Treasury Department.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Cervo raised $5 million in seed funding last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
For the experienced seagrass seed collectors, buckets soon begin to fill with the tips of stems.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
In no time there wasn’t as much as a seed left.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Ms. Foster’s group agreed to deliver $1 million for a new project — SEED, for Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2018
"These studies are really going to fundamentally change the landscape," says Croen, who is a lead investigator on SEED.
From Nature ● Nov. 2, 2011
THE SEED: "The hardest part of this show is coming up with the ideas," says David.
From Time Magazine Archive
"SEED looks like a very innovative model, but it is too early to tell," says Nina Rees, a U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
Boreal forests are also supposed to burn on an infrequent basis, in order to open up certain pine cones and spread their seeds, or to clear out lower tree branches.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Guncotton has historically been made from what are called linters—the short, fuzzy fibers left on cotton seeds after the main fibers are removed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
It also limited the ability of malformed tau to act as "seeds" that recruit more tau proteins and build larger clumps.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
Sowing doubt, tossing seeds of chaos into the soil to see what grows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
We ate until it was finished, core gone, seeds gone, everything gone, even the stem.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
“They’re seeded, so they’re in a favorable bracket. They have everything going for them.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
The fund it envisions would be seeded “partly” by AI companies, on terms the industry would presumably determine.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
She is seeded 30th for Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, and is set to learn her first-round opponent in Friday's draw.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
A sturdy bread: toasted sourdough, dark brown sandwich loaves, cornbread, seeded rye.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
The “sickness” comes in the spring, at the time the rice fields are seeded.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
Less successful is Ms. Waldman’s insistence on densely seeding her narrative with big-name cultural figures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
British number one Raducanu missed out on a seeding for the clay-court Grand Slam after falling to 37th in the world rankings.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
The conditions mean farmers have missed two of the three usual planting phases for so-called "wet direct seeding" of rice, a technique that requires fields to be flooded.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
Bell is ranked higher than Garfield and South Gate for seeding purposes based on computer rankings, but the City still uses league finish as part of consideration.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
As fast as Enoch, his father and his brother worked, it still took them a month to finish seeding Mr. Tidwell's farm during that spring of 1914.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.