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¹seed

noun \ˈsēd\

: a small object produced by a plant from which a new plant can grow

: the beginning of something which continues to develop or grow

: a player or team that is ranked as one of the best in a competition (such as a tennis tournament) in order to be sure that the best players or teams do not play against each other in the early part of the competition

plural seed or seeds

Full Definition of SEED

a (1) : the grains or ripened ovules of plants used for sowing (2) : the fertilized ripened ovule of a flowering plant containing an embryo and capable normally of germination to produce a new plant; broadly : a propagative plant structure (as a spore or small dry fruit)

b : a propagative animal structure: (1) : milt, semen (2) : a small egg (as of an insect) (3) : a developmental form of a lower animal suitable for transplanting; specifically : spat

c : the condition or stage of bearing seed <in seed>

: progeny

: a source of development or growth : germ <sowed the seeds of discord>

: something (as a tiny particle or a bubble in glass) that resembles a seed in shape or size

: a competitor who has been seeded in a tournament <the top seed>

— seed adjective

— seed·ed \ˈsē-dəd\ adjective

— seed·less \ˈsēd-ləs\ adjective

— seed·like \-ˌlīk\ adjective

— go to seed or run to seed

: to develop seed

: decay, deteriorate

See seed defined for English-language learners

See seed defined for kids

Origin of SEED

Middle English, from Old English sǣd; akin to Old High German sāt seed, Old English sāwan to sow — more at sow

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to SEED

Synonyms: fountainhead, germ, origin, root, seedbed

Other Genetics Terms

chimera, hermaphrodite, plasticity

Rhymes with SEED

bead, Bede, bleed, brede, breed, cede, creed, deed, feed, Gide, gleed, greed, heed, keyed, knead, kneed, lead, mead, Mead, Mede, meed, need, plead, read, rede, reed, screed, Snead, speed, steed, swede, treed, tweed, weed

²seed

verb

: to plant (an area of ground) with seeds

of a plant : to produce seeds

: to remove (seeds) from a fruit or vegetable

Full Definition of SEED

intransitive verb

: to bear or shed seed

: to sow seed : plant

transitive verb

a : to plant seeds in : sow <seed a lawn with grass>

b : to furnish with something that causes or stimulates growth or development

c : inoculate

d : to supply with nuclei (as of crystallization or condensation); especially : to treat (a cloud) with solid particles to convert water droplets into ice crystals in an attempt to produce precipitation

e : to cover or permeate by or as if by scattering something <seeded [the] sea-lanes with thousands of magnetic mines — Otto Friedrich>

: plant 1a

: to extract the seeds from (as raisins)

a : to schedule (tournament players or teams) so that superior ones will not meet in early rounds

b : to rank (a contestant) relative to others in a tournament on the basis of previous record <the top-seeded tennis star>

See seed defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of SEED

14th century

Related to SEED

Synonyms: drill, put in, plant, sow

SEED Defined for Kids

¹seed

noun \ˈsēd\

Definition of SEED for Kids

: a tiny developing plant that is enclosed in a protective coat usually along with a supply of food and that is able to develop under suitable conditions into a plant like the one that produced it

: a small structure (as a spore or a tiny dry fruit) other than a true seed by which a plant reproduces itself

: the descendants of one individual

: a source of development or growth : germ <The comment planted a seed of doubt in my mind.>

— seed·ed \ˈsē-dəd\ adjective

— seed·less \ˈsēd-ləs\ adjective