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Glite Dictionary
🌽 Corn for planting 💰 Resources for growth
seed corn

seed corn

1 6.7
Money or goods kept for use later to help future growth
  • noun
  • /siːd kɔrn/
translation icon : capital de reserva
  • She emphasized that the company's seed corn must remain intact to ensure there are resources for upcoming projects.

Then I teach in Russia that the time and the money you set aside to be invested is like seed corn.

Examples

  • Though he'd never gardened, Harbert would take this twenty dollars to the Farm & Fleet and buy nonhybrid seed corn to plant next spring to grow more feed for the chickens.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • "Even in tough times," she said, "the last thing you want to eliminate is your seed corn."

    Blog text (24)

  • As chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Finance and Revenue, Burdick said she viewed the incentive program as "seed corn."

    Blog text (24)

  • In business, it's crucial to save some seed corn for future investments rather than using all your resources immediately.

  • During difficult economic times, making cuts to your seed corn can jeopardize long-term growth.

Synonyms

fund
vsseed corn
245 1.6

An amount of something kept for future use

is kept specifically for future growth needs rather than general future use
reserve
vsseed corn
194 3.5

A supply kept for future use, often in an emergency

is held specifically to support future growth and not immediate needs

Antonyms

capital expenditure
  • Specialized
4 6.4

Money a business spends to buy or improve things like buildings, machines and equipment that last a long time

Surface Forms

seed corn singular
seed corns plural

Morphology

seed + corn

The noun–noun compound is compositionally transparent: 'seed' modifies 'corn' to indicate corn kept for sowing, so a B1 learner who knows 'seed' (used for planting) and 'corn' can infer 'corn reserved for future planting.' The extended metaphorical meaning (resources set aside for future growth) follows directly from this literal agricultural practice and is a common, cross-linguistic analogy, making the expression readily comprehensible.

Etymology

Seed corn for business borrows that farming picture: people keep some money or goods as seed corn so they can 'plant' them later to help a business grow, not spend them now.