Seed

/siːd/ name, noun, verb, slang

name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
  • Grammar: seed is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: acorn, affiliation, androcyte, anlage.
  • Useful contrasts: anthus, bulbil, chaff.
  • Usage evidence: Bad seed must produce bad corn.

How to use "seed"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "seed" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "seed" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "seed" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "seed" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "seed" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "acorn" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "seed", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs. countable

    "[…] for hungry birds have devoured ſeeds, and having moiſtened and warmed them in their bellies, a little after have dunged in the forky twiſtes of Trees, and together with their dung excluded the ſeed whole which erſt they had ſwallowed: and ſometimes it brings forth there where they dung it, […]"

  2. 2
    the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract wordnet
  3. 3
    Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.; A fertilized and ripened ovule, containing an embryonic plant. countable
  4. 4
    anything that provides inspiration for later work wordnet
  5. 5
    Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.; Any small seed-like fruit. countable

    "If you plant a seed in the spring, you may have a pleasant surprise in the autumn."

Show 17 more definitions
  1. 6
    one of the outstanding players in a tournament wordnet
  2. 7
    An amount of seeds that cannot be readily counted. collective, uncountable

    "The entire field was covered with geese eating the freshly sown seed."

  3. 8
    a mature fertilized plant ovule consisting of an embryo and its food source and having a protective coat or testa wordnet
  4. 9
    A fragment of coral. countable
  5. 10
    a small hard fruit wordnet
  6. 11
    Semen. uncountable

    "A man must use his seed to start and raise a family."

  7. 12
    A precursor. countable, figuratively

    "the seed of an idea"

  8. 13
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.; The initial position of a competitor or team in a tournament. (seed position) countable, uncountable

    "The team with the best regular season record receives the top seed in the conference tournament."

  9. 14
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.; The competitor or team occupying a given seed (position). countable, uncountable

    "The rookie was a surprising top seed."

  10. 15
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.; The initialization state of a pseudorandom number generator or similar system. countable, uncountable

    "If you use the same seed you will get exactly the same pattern of numbers."

  11. 16
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.; (by extension) A unique code that acts as a blueprint for generating a specific game world, determining terrain, structures, and resource placement. countable, uncountable

    "Seeds are Minecraft's way of generating terrain. Each biome you spawn in is determined by the seed. With a custom seed, you can have a desert biome right next to a mesa biome."

  12. 17
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.; A commercial message in a creative format placed on relevant sites on the Internet. (seed idea or seed message) Internet, countable, uncountable

    "The latest seed has attracted a lot of users in our online community."

  13. 18
    Offspring, descendants, progeny. archaic, countable, uncountable

    "the seed of Abraham"

  14. 19
    Race; generation; birth. countable, uncountable

    "Of mortal seed they were not held."

  15. 20
    A small particle, bubble, or imperfection that serves as a nucleation point for some process. countable, uncountable
  16. 21
    A small bubble formed in imperfectly fused glass. countable, uncountable
  17. 22
    A child. US, countable, slang, uncountable

    "Seeds know what time it is, like it's time for Teletubbies"

Verb
  1. 1
    To plant or sow an area with seeds. transitive

    "I seeded my lawn with bluegrass."

  2. 2
    simple past and past participle of see dialectal, form-of, participle, past

    "Presently a rioting noise was heard without. Starting up, the landlord cried, "That's the Grampus's crew. I seed her reported in the offing this morning; a three years' voyage, and a full ship. Hurrah, boys; now we'll have the latest news from the Feegees.""

  3. 3
    remove the seeds from wordnet
  4. 4
    To shed seeds (refers to plants) reflexive

    "These poppies have not seeded themselves yet."

  5. 5
    inoculate with microorganisms wordnet
Show 15 more definitions
  1. 6
    To cover thinly with something scattered; to ornament with seedlike decorations. transitive

    "[…] AGRYPNIA, or Vigilance, in yellovv, a ſable mantle, ſeeded vvith vvaking eies, and ſiluer fringe: […]"

  2. 7
    sprinkle with silver iodide particles to disperse and cause rain wordnet
  3. 8
    To start; to provide, assign or determine the initial resources for, position of, state of. transitive

    "A venture capitalist seeds young companies."

  4. 9
    distribute (players or teams) so that outstanding teams or players will not meet in the early rounds wordnet
  5. 10
    To allocate a seeding to a competitor.

    "Everybody likes to second‐guess computers, including who seed the pros. Nothing could have better exposed the vulnerability of the computer seeding than the spectacle of clay‐court experts looking like weekend hackers on grass."

  6. 11
    place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth wordnet
  7. 12
    To leave (files) available for others to download through peer-to-peer file sharing protocols (e.g. BitTorrent). Internet, transitive
  8. 13
    go to seed; shed seeds wordnet
  9. 14
    To be qualified to compete, especially in a quarter-final, semi-final, or final. intransitive

    "The tennis player seeded into the quarters."

  10. 15
    bear seeds wordnet
  11. 16
    To scatter small particles within (a cloud or airmass) in order to trigger the formation of rain.

    "A number of clouds were seeded to help provide rain to a drought-stricken area."

  12. 17
    help (an enterprise) in its early stages of development by providing seed money wordnet
  13. 18
    To produce seed. intransitive
  14. 19
    To grow to maturity. intransitive
  15. 20
    To ejaculate inside the penetratee during intercourse, especially in the rectum. slang, vulgar
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Synonyms

All synonyms
acornaffiliationandrocyteanlageantheridiumantherozoid

Example

"Bad seed must produce bad corn."

Common questions

What does "seed" mean?

Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.

What is a synonym for "seed"?

Common synonyms include: acorn, affiliation, androcyte, anlage, antheridium, antherozoid.

How do you use "seed" in a sentence?

Bad seed must produce bad corn.

How do you pronounce "seed"?

Pronounced /siːd/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

] From Middle English seed, sede, side, from Old English sēd, sǣd (“seed, that which is sown”), from Proto-West Germanic *sād, from Proto-Germanic *sēdą, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow, throw”). Cognates Cognate with Yola zeade (“seed”), North Frisian sead, seed, siad, Siid, sädj, säid (“seed”), Saterland Frisian Säid (“seed”), West Frisian sied (“seed”), Dutch zaad (“seed”), German Saat (“seed; sowing”), Limburgish zaod (“seed”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk sæd (“seed”), Faroese and Icelandic sáð (“seed”), Swedish säd (“seed”), Gothic *𐍃𐌴𐌸𐍃 (*sēþs, “seed”); also Latin serō (“to sow, plant”), Latvian sēt (“to sow”), Lithuanian sėti (“to sow”), Bulgarian се́я (séja, “to sow, plant”), Czech sít (“to sow”), Macedonian сее (see, “to sow”), Polish siać (“to sow”), Russian се́ять (séjatʹ, “to sow”), Serbo-Croatian се̏јати, sȅjati, си̏јати, sȉjati (“to sow”), Slovak siať (“to sow”), Slovene sejáti (“to sow”), Ukrainian сі́яти (síjaty, “to sow”). More at sow.

Etymology 2

From see + -d (“past tense suffix; variant of -ed”).

More for "seed"

Synonyms

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