seed

noun

• 1the unit of reproduction of a flowering plant, capable of developing into another such plant: cut open the peppers and remove the seeds [as modifier]:seed capsules
• [mass noun] a quantity of seeds:grass seed you can grow artichokes from seed
• the cause or latent beginning of a feeling, process, or condition:the conversation sowed a tiny seed of doubt in his mind

• 2 [mass noun] a man’s semen.
• archaic (chiefly in biblical use) a person’s offspring or descendants: as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed

• 3any of a number of stronger competitors in a sports tournament who have been assigned a specified position in an ordered list with the aim of ensuring that they do not play each other in the early rounds:he knocked the top seed out of the championships

• 4 (also seed crystal) a small crystal introduced into a liquid to act as a nucleus for crystallization.

• 5a small container for radioactive material placed in body tissue during radiotherapy.

verb

• 1 [with object] sow (land) with seeds:the shoreline is seeded with a special grass
• sow (seed): after seeding forage into the duff, they now have grassland mixed with mature forest
• cause (something) to begin to develop or grow:his interest in public service was seeded when he was a child
• place a crystal or crystalline substance in (something) in order to cause crystallization or condensation (especially in a cloud to produce rain): potential hail clouds are observed by radar, then seeded by lead iodide fired into the cloud’s centre

• 2 [no object] (of a plant) produce or drop seeds:mulches encourage many plants to seed freely
• (seed itself) (of a plant) reproduce itself by means of its own seeds:feverfew will seed itself readily

• 3 [with object] remove the seeds from (vegetables or fruit):stem and seed the chillies

• 4 [with object] give (a competitor) the status of seed in a tournament: [with object and complement]:he was seeded second for the competition