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to seed

to seed

4 6.7
To place players in a competition so top players avoid each other early
  • verb
  • /siːd/
: colocar como cabeza de serie
  • The committee seeded the participants to avoid having the strongest competitors face each other in the early rounds.
  • a seeded team
  • top-seeded team
  • a seeded player

Examples

  • Ridgewood advanced with a 31-18 home win over fifth-seeded Passaic Tech last Friday to improve to 7-2.

    Blog text (22)
  • I suppose I was lucky being seeded fifth.

  • Oh, I should mention a young man seeded in the second group on the basis of a stunning performance when starting way back.

  • The top four teams qualify and are seeded based on their league regular season records.

    Blog text (17)
  • In San Jose, the Earthquakes fell to the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Galaxy.

    Blog text (4)
  • Ironically, Hawaii has already beaten four of the teams seeded in front of them this season, including No. 2 Stanford.

    Blog text (19)
  • Peter, did you know that Dragomir is the first seeded player you've defeated in three years?

  • State basketball tournament games are held in the gym of the higher-seeded team, regardless of how well-lit the gym is.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Another seeded player goes down, and Colt will now take on fifth seed Pierre Maroux in the semifinals on Friday.

  • The Sounders play Mexican side Tigres UANL, seeded No. 6 in the two-leg series.

    Blog text (4)

Antonyms

to randomize
  • Specialized
4 6.1

Arrange something in no particular order, often to give each item an equal chance

Idioms

1 5.9

To make someone begin to feel unsure about something

Use saved resources now in a way that harms future success

Phrasal Verbs

14 2.2

To plant seeds in the ground so they can grow

to go to seed
  • Informal
4 7.3

To become untidy and overgrown and lose quality

Compounds

Small seeds from sunflowers eaten as a snack, used in cooking or pressed for oil

11 3.6

Money given at the start to help a new business get started

11 1.0

Small oval seeds from a plant used in cooking and to make oil

8 1.8

Small grey seeds from a garden flower used in baking and cooking

7 1.3

A small part inside a pumpkin that you can eat as a snack

mustard seed
  • Literature
4 4.1

A very small idea or amount that can grow into something much larger

4 2.2

A small round seed from a plant used whole or ground to make a spicy sauce

4 3.6

Small aromatic seeds used to add flavor to food and drinks

2 3.4

A small brown seed used to give a warm, slightly spicy flavor to bread and food

2 2.4

A small brown seed that adds a warm, slightly bitter taste to food

2 3.1

An edible seed from the cannabis plant used as food or in cooking

seed corn
  • Specialized
2 4.1

Kernels of corn kept for planting the next crop

Dried seeds of the coriander plant used as a spice

seed stock
  • Specialized
1 3.6

Seeds or tubers that farmers keep to plant next year's crops

1 3.0

A book or list that shows seeds for sale with descriptions and prices

1 4.5

A small seed with a sweet licorice taste that people use to flavor food and drinks

1 2.3

Small seeds from the celery plant used to add flavor to food

1 6.7

Money or goods kept for use later to help future growth

1 3.5

A sweet cake with seeds like caraway and a little lemon

seed pearl
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A very small imperfect round bead made by an oyster and used in jewelry

1 3.2

A plant that makes seeds to grow new plants

Small seeds with a strong smell used to add flavor to curry and other dishes

fern seed
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A tiny spore from a fern, once thought to make you invisible

seed grain
  • Specialized
1 3.4

Kernels of crops like corn that farmers keep to plant next season

A pale yellow liquid used for cooking and salads that comes from sunflower seeds

1 2.1

A small part of a plant that you can eat and use in cooking

1 3.0

A small brown seed from the dill plant used to add flavor to food

seed coat
  • Specialized
1 3.6

An outer covering of a seed that protects the young plant inside

seed fern
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Plants that looked like ferns but made seeds long ago

1 2.0

A person or shop that sells seeds for planting

A small hard seed from the safflower plant used for bird food and to make oil

1 2.8

A shallow container for planting seeds and growing young plants

seed oyster
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A small oyster that people move to an oyster bed to grow

1 7.5

A small insect that eats the seeds of plants like beans or peas

seed leaf
  • Specialized
1 5.5

First leaf or pair of leaves inside a seed that feed the young plant

seed cleaner
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A machine that removes dirt and broken seeds before storage

A seed that contains a lot of oil used to make cooking oil and other oils

1 5.3

A mix of seeds fed to small pet birds like canaries and finches

silkworm seed
  • Specialized
1 7.6

Eggs of the insect that makes silk, used to start silk farming

A container used to grow edible shoots from seeds like bean sprouts

seed vessel
  • Specialized
1 5.2

The part of a plant that holds the small parts that grow into new plants after flowering

Bread made with caraway seeds that give it a warm, strong flavor

cotton-seed tree
  • Specialized
9.5

A small bush that grows in salt marshes and has fruit with white fluffy tufts

drop-seed
  • Specialized
9.4

A grass with very small seeds that fall off easily

jumping seed
  • Specialized
9.9

A seed from Mexican shrubs that moves because a baby moth inside wiggles

neem seed
  • Indian
7.3

A seed from the neem tree used to make natural insect spray, plant food, and medicine

9.9

Hard shiny grey seed from a tropical tree that people use to make jewelry and decorations

seed shrimp
  • Specialized
7.9

A very small water animal like a shrimp with its whole body inside a two-part shell

seed lac
  • Specialized
9.9

Small dark pieces made by crushing and washing stick resin, used to make shellac

A small beetle that lays eggs in seeds of plants like beans and whose young eat the seeds

How High

to seed
4 6.7
to rank
276 2.4

Surface Forms

seed infinitive
seeded past
seeded past participle
seeding present participle
seeds third person singular

Etymology

To seed a tournament as a verb comes from the same planting idea: organizers place teams or players into the bracket like 'planting' seeds so the strongest do not meet at the start.