seed

The definition of a seed is a structure that contains the embryo of a plant.

(noun)

An example of seed is an almond.

See seed in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. seeds or seed

the part of a flowering plant that typically contains the embryo with its protective coat and stored food and that can develop into a new plant under the proper conditions; fertilized and mature ovule
loosely
1. any part, as a bulb, tuber, etc., from which a new plant can grow: a potato seed
2. a small, usually hard, seedlike fruit
seeds collectively
the source, origin, or beginning of anything: the seeds of revolt
Archaic
1. descendants; posterity
2. ancestry
1. in the development of certain lower animals, a form suitable for transplanting, as spat
2. the seed-bearing stage or condition: in seed
spore ()
sperm or semen
something tiny, like a seed; esp.,
1. ☆ a tiny crystal or other particle, as one added to a solution or liquid to start crystallization
2. a tiny bubble, as a flaw in glassware
☆ Sports a seeded player

Origin: ME sede < OE sæd, akin to Ger saat < IE base *sē(i)-, to cast, let fall > L serere, to sow, plant, sator, sower, semen, seed

transitive verb

to plant with seeds
to sow (seeds)
to remove the seeds from
☆ to inject, fill, or scatter with seeds (see seed, sense ); esp., to sprinkle particles of dry ice, silver iodide, etc. into (clouds) in an attempt to induce rainfall
to provide with the means or stimulus for growing or developing
Sports
1. to distribute the names of the ranking contestants in (the draw for position in a tournament) so that those with the greatest skill are not matched together in the early rounds
2. to treat (a player) as a ranking contestant in this way

intransitive verb

Related Forms:

See seed in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. seeds seeds or seed

A ripened plant ovule containing an embryo.
A propagative part of a plant, as a tuber or spore.
Seeds considered as a group.
The seed-bearing stage of a plant.
Something that resembles a seed, as a tiny bubble in a piece of glass.
a. A small amount of material used to start a chemical reaction.
b. A small crystal used to start a crystallization process.
Medicine A form of a radioactive isotope that is used to localize and concentrate the amount of radiation administered to a body site, such as a tumor.
A source or beginning; a germ.
Offspring; progeny.
Family stock; ancestry.
Sperm; semen.
A seed oyster or oysters; spat.
Sports A player who has been seeded for a tournament, often at a given rank: a top seed.

verb seed·ed, seed·ing, seeds seeds

verb, transitive

To plant seeds in (land, for example); sow.
To plant in soil.
To remove the seeds from (fruit).
To furnish with something that grows or stimulates growth or development: a bioreactor seeded with bacteria.
Medicine To cause (cells or a tumor, for example) to grow or multiply.
Meteorology To sprinkle (a cloud) with particles, as of silver iodide, in order to disperse it or to produce precipitation.
Sports
a. To arrange (the drawing for positions in a tournament) so that the more skilled contestants meet in the later rounds.
b. To rank (a contestant) in this way.
To help (a business, for example) in its early development.