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Seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering. The formation of the seed is part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm plants.
Seeds are the product of the ripened ovule, after fertilization by pollen and some growth within the mother plant. The embryo is developed from the zygote and the seed coat from the integuments of the ovule.
Seeds have been an important development in the reproduction and success of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants, relative to more primitive plants such as ferns, mosses and liverworts, which do not have seeds and use water-dependent means to propagate themselves. Seed plants now dominate biological niches on land, from forests to grasslands both in hot and cold climates.
The term “seed” also has a general meaning that antedates the above – anything that can be sown, e.g. “seed” potatoes, “seeds” of corn or sunflower “seeds”. In the case of sunflower and corn “seeds”, what is sown is the seed enclosed in a shell or husk, whereas the potato is a tuber.
Many structures commonly referred to as “seeds” are actually dry fruits. Plants producing berries are called baccate. Sunflower seeds are sometimes sold commercially while still enclosed within the hard wall of the fruit, which must be split open to reach the seed. Different groups of plants have other modifications, the so-called stone fruits (such as the peach) have a hardened fruit layer (the endocarp) fused to and surrounding the actual seed. Nuts are the one-seeded, hard-shelled fruit of some plants with an indehiscent seed, such as an acorn or hazelnut.
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Seed (noun)
A fertilized grain, initially encased in a fruit, which may grow into a mature plant.
“If you plant a seed in the spring, you may have a pleasant surprise in the autumn.”
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Seed (noun)
A fertilized ovule, containing an embryonic plant.
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Seed (noun)
An amount of fertilized grain that cannot be readily counted.
“The entire field was covered with geese eating the freshly sown seed.”
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Seed (noun)
Semen.
“A man must use his seed to start and raise a family.”
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Seed (noun)
A precursor.
“germ”
“the seed of an idea; which idea was the seed (idea)?”
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Seed (noun)
The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
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Seed (noun)
The initial position of a competitor or team in a tournament. (seed position)
“The team with the best regular season record receives the top seed in the conference tournament.”
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Seed (noun)
The competitor or team occupying a given seed. (seed position)
“The rookie was a surprising top seed.”
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Seed (noun)
Initialization state of a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG). (seed number)
“If you use the same seed you will get exactly the same pattern of numbers.”
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Seed (noun)
Offspring, descendants, progeny.
“the seed of Abraham”
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Seed (noun)
Race; generation; birth.
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Seed (noun)
A small bubble formed in imperfectly fused glass.
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Seed (verb)
To plant or sow an area with seeds.
“I seeded my lawn with bluegrass.”
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Seed (verb)
To cover thinly with something scattered; to ornament with seedlike decorations.
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Seed (verb)
To start; to provide, assign or determine the initial resources for, position of, state of.
“A venture capitalist seeds young companies.”
“The tournament coordinator will seed the starting lineup with the best competitors from the qualifying round.”
“The programmer seeded fresh, uncorrupted data into the database before running unit tests.”
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Seed (verb)
To allocate a seeding to a competitor.
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Seed (verb)
To leave (files) available for others to download through peer-to-peer file sharing protocols (e.g. BitTorrent).
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Seed (verb)
To be qualified to compete, especially in a quarter-final, semi-final{{,}} or final.
“The tennis player seeded into the quarters.”
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Seed (verb)
To produce seed.
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Seed (verb)
To grow to maturity.
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Seed (verb)
To ejaculate inside the penetratee during intercourse, especially in the rectum.
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Seed (verb)
simple past tense and past participle of see
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Pit (noun)
A hole in the ground.
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Pit (noun)
An area at a motor racetrack used for refueling and repairing the vehicles during a race.
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Pit (noun)
A section of the marching band containing mallet percussion instruments and other large percussion instruments too large to march, such as the tam tam. Also, the area on the sidelines where these instruments are placed.
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Pit (noun)
A mine.
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Pit (noun)
A hole or trench in the ground, excavated according to grid coordinates, so that the provenance of any feature observed and any specimen or artifact revealed may be established by precise measurement.
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Pit (noun)
A trading pit.
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Pit (noun)
The bottom part of something.
“I felt pain in the pit of my stomach.”
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Pit (noun)
Armpit.
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Pit (noun)
A luggage hold.
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Pit (noun)
A small surface hole or depression, a fossa.
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Pit (noun)
The indented mark left by a pustule, as in smallpox.
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Pit (noun)
The grave, or underworld.
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Pit (noun)
An enclosed area into which gamecocks, dogs, and other animals are brought to fight, or where dogs are trained to kill rats.
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Pit (noun)
Formerly, that part of a theatre, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theatre.
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Pit (noun)
Part of a casino which typically holds tables for blackjack, craps, roulette, and other games.
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Pit (noun)
A pit bull terrier.
“I’m taking one of my pits to the vet on Thursday.”
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Pit (noun)
.
“His circus job was the pits, but at least he was in show business.”
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Pit (noun)
A mosh pit.
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Pit (noun)
A seed inside a fruit; a stone or pip inside a fruit.
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Pit (noun)
A shell in a drupe containing a seed.
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Pit (noun)
The core of an implosion weapon, consisting of the fissile material and any neutron reflector or tamper bonded to it.
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Pit (noun)
A pit bull terrier.
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Pit (verb)
To make pits in; to mark with little hollows.
“Exposure to acid rain pitted the metal.”
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Pit (verb)
To put (an animal) into a pit for fighting.
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Pit (verb)
To bring (something) into opposition with something else.
“Are you ready to pit your wits against one of the world’s greatest puzzles?”
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Pit (verb)
To return to the pits during a race for refuelling, tyre changes, repairs etc.
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Pit (verb)
To remove the stone from a stone fruit or the shell from a drupe.
“One must pit a peach to make it ready for a pie.”
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Pit (noun)
a large hole in the ground.
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Pit (noun)
a large deep hole from which stones or minerals are quarried
“a gravel pit”
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Pit (noun)
a coal mine
“the recent protests over planned pit closures”
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Pit (noun)
a sunken area in a workshop floor allowing access to a car’s underside.
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Pit (noun)
a low or wretched psychological state
“a black pit of depression”
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Pit (noun)
hell.
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Pit (noun)
a hollow or indentation in a surface.
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Pit (noun)
a small indentation left on the skin by a pustule or spot; a pockmark.
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Pit (noun)
an area at the side of a track where racing cars are serviced and refuelled
“he had a flat tyre when he came into the pits”
“the pit lane”
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Pit (noun)
an orchestra pit.
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Pit (noun)
the seating at the back of the stalls of a theatre.
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Pit (noun)
a part of the floor of a stock exchange in which a particular stock or commodity is traded
“the trading pit of the Singapore International Monetary Exchange”
“pooled commodity funds liquidated positions in the corn and soybean pits”
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Pit (noun)
an enclosure in which animals are made to fight
“a bear pit”
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Pit (noun)
a person’s bed.
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Pit (noun)
a person’s armpit.
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Pit (noun)
the stone of a fruit.
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Pit (verb)
set someone or something in conflict or competition with
“you’ll get the chance to pit your wits against the world champions”
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Pit (verb)
set an animal to fight against (another animal) for sport
“there were usually three dogs pitted against one lion”
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Pit (verb)
make a hollow or indentation in the surface of
“rain poured down, pitting the bare earth”
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Pit (verb)
sink in or contract so as to form a pit or hollow.
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Pit (verb)
drive a racing car into the pits for fuel or maintenance
“he pitted on lap 36 with sudden engine trouble”
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Pit (verb)
remove the pit from (fruit).