Idioms for seed

    go/run to seed,
    1. (of the flower of a plant) to pass to the stage of yielding seed.
    2. to lose vigor, power, or prosperity; deteriorate: He has gone to seed in the last few years.
    in seed,
    1. (of certain plants) in the state of bearing ripened seeds.
    2. (of a field, a lawn, etc.) sown with seed.

Origin of seed

before 900; (noun) Middle English sede, side, seed(e), Old English sēd, sǣd; cognate with German Saat, Old Norse sāth, Gothic -seths; (v.) Middle English seden to produce seeds, derivative of the noun; akin to sow 1

SYNONYMS FOR seed

7 descendants, heirs, posterity, issue, scions.

OTHER WORDS FROM seed

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH seed

cede concede secede seed recede reseed

British Dictionary definitions for run to seed (1 of 2)

SEED

abbreviation for

Scottish Executive Education Department

British Dictionary definitions for run to seed (2 of 2)

seed
/ (siːd) /

noun

verb

Derived forms of seed

seedlike, adjective seedless, adjective

Word Origin for seed

Old English sǣd; related to Old Norse sāth, Gothic sēths, Old High German sāt

Medical definitions for run to seed

seed
[ sēd ]

n.

A ripened plant ovule that contains an embryo.
A propagative part of a plant, such as a tuber or a spore.
Sperm; semen.
A pellet filled with a radioactive isotope that is implanted at the site of a cancerous tumor to provide localized administration of radiation.

v.

To inoculate a culture medium with microorganisms.

Scientific definitions for run to seed

seed
[ sēd ]

Noun

A mature fertilized ovule of angiosperms and gymnosperms that contains an embryo and the food it will need to grow into a new plant. Seeds provide a great reproductive advantage in being able to survive for extended periods until conditions are favorable for germination and growth. The seeds of gymnosperms (such as the conifers) develop on scales of cones or similar structures, while the seeds of angiosperms are enclosed in an ovary that develops into a fruit, such as a pome or nut. The structure of seeds varies somewhat. All seeds are enclosed in a protective seed coat. In certain angiosperms the embryo is enclosed in or attached to an endosperm, a tissue that it uses as a food source either before or during germination. All angiosperm embryos also have at least one cotyledon. The first seed-bearing plants emerged at least 365 million years ago in the late Devonian Period. Many angiosperms have evolved specific fruits for dispersal of seeds by the wind, water, or animals. See more at germination ovule.

Verb

To plant seeds in soil.
To initiate rainfall or to generate additional rainfall by artificially increasing the precipitation efficiency of clouds. See more at cloud seeding.

Idioms and Phrases with run to seed (1 of 2)

run to seed

Also, go to seed. Become devitalized or worn out; deteriorate, as in I went back to visit my old elementary school, and sadly, it has really run to seed, or The gold medalist quickly went to seed after he left competition. This term alludes to plants that, when allowed to set seed after flowering, either taste bitter, as in the case of lettuce, or do not send out new buds, as is true of annual flowers. Its figurative use dates from the first half of the 1800s.

Idioms and Phrases with run to seed (2 of 2)

seed

see run to seed.