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to seed

to seed

20 5.6
To add cells or other small things to start growth
  • verb
  • /siːd/
translation icon : inocular (biología)
  • So what I'm doing in there is I'm, I'm seeding doubt in their mind.
  • seed with funding
  • seed cultures
  • seed with cells

You're telling me we can seed rain clouds in Dubai?

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Examples

  • We would conquer the distantmost reaches of the unknown; we would seed ourselves in its glories.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • At this point, YouTube itself had a small grant to seed starting new educational channels.

  • Get the money to seed our dreams.

  • A foundation that seeds entrepreneurial women.

  • IBOY's scientific meetings and publications have raised interdisciplinary awareness and seeded new local and global partnerships.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The scholarship was designed to seed innovative projects in local communities.

  • They decided to seed the new initiative with a small amount of funding at first.

  • To enhance the project, we will seed it with necessary resources and support.

Synonyms

to plant
vsto seed
361 1.0

To put seeds or young plants into the soil so they grow

is the broader act of introducing many kinds of things to start processes
to sow the seeds of
vsto seed
  • Informal
2 6.3

To cause a small action now that brings bigger effects later

is the broader act of introducing something to begin or help growth

Antonyms

147 4.6

To make something stop or finish

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

to go to seed
  • Informal
2 7.3

To become untidy and overgrown and lose quality

1 2.2

To plant seeds in the ground so they can grow

Compounds

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

10 3.6

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

9 1.0

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

5 1.8

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

5 1.3

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

3 2.2

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

2 3.6

Small aromatic seeds used to add flavor to food and drinks

1 3.4

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

Dried seeds of the coriander plant used as a spice

1 2.4

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

mustard seed
  • Literature
1 4.1

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

1 3.1

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

1 3.0

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

seed stock
  • Specialized
1 3.6

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

1 2.3

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

1 4.5

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

1 3.5

A sweet cake with seeds like caraway and a little lemon

seed cleaner
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A machine that removes dirt and broken seeds before storage

seed corn
  • Specialized
1 4.1

Kernels of corn kept for planting the next crop

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

1 6.7

Money or goods kept for use later to help future growth

seed grain
  • Specialized
1 3.4

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

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

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

cotton-seed tree
  • Specialized
9.5

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

3.0

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

drop-seed
  • Specialized
9.4

A grass with very small seeds that fall off easily

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

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

fern seed
  • Archaic
9.9

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

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

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

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

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

seed coat
  • Specialized
3.6

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

seed oyster
  • Specialized
6.7

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

A person or shop that sells seeds for planting

seed shrimp
  • Specialized
7.9

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

seed fern
  • Specialized
9.9

Plants that looked like ferns but made seeds long ago

seed lac
  • Specialized
9.9

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

seed leaf
  • Specialized
5.5

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

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

2.8

A shallow container for planting seeds and growing young plants

seed vessel
  • Specialized
5.2

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

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

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

silkworm seed
  • Specialized
7.6

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

How Much

to saturate
55 5.2
to inoculate
15 6.3
to seed
20 5.6
to add
1.0
to sprinkle
100 1.1

Surface Forms

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

Etymology

In science and technology, to seed something means to add a small amount that will grow or spread, like putting a seed into soil to start growth, so the word keeps the idea of beginning a process.