seed

/siːd/

//siːd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"seed" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“seed” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #3,846) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#3,846
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.

Corpus desk

Index EN-seed · seed · English

seed · rank #3,846 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,846
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH scary

Nearest frequency peer: scary (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “seed”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “seed” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

seed vs she
50% similar
seed vs set
50% similar
seed vs sex
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for seed
PropertyValue
Headwordseed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/siːd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#3,846
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “seed”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).seedlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “scary” (#3,845), “settle” (#3,847), “routine” (#3,844). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “seed” is #3,846. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for seed is neighbouring look-alikes ("she", "set", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /siːd/. Frequency #3,846 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 17 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for seed, with forms such as "esed", "sede", and "seedd". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "she", "set", "sex", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: ] From Middle English seed, sede, side, from Old English sēd, sǣd (“seed, that which is sown”), from Proto-West Germanic *sād, from Proto-Germanic *sēdą, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow, throw”). Cognates Cognate with Yola zeade (“seed”), North Fri… The correct English form is seed, spelled S-E-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
  2. 2
    Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
  3. 3
    Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
  4. 4
    An amount of seeds that cannot be readily counted.
  5. 5
    A fragment of coral.
  6. 6
    Semen.
  7. 7
    A precursor.
  8. 8
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
  9. 9
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
  10. 10
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
  11. 11
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
  12. 12
    The initial state, condition or position of a changing, growing or developing process; the ultimate precursor in a defined chain of precursors.
  13. 13
    Offspring, descendants, progeny.
  14. 14
    Race; generation; birth.
  15. 15
    A small particle, bubble, or imperfection that serves as a nucleation point for some process.
  16. 16
    A small bubble formed in imperfectly fused glass.
  17. 17
    A child.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how seed appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] for hungry birds have devoured ſeeds, and having moiſtened and warmed them in their bellies, a little after have dunged in the forky twiſtes of Trees, and together with their dung excluded the ſeed whole which erſt they had ſwallowed: and ſometimes it brings forth there where they dung it, […]
  2. If you plant a seed in the spring, you may have a pleasant surprise in the autumn.

Etymology

] From Middle English seed, sede, side, from Old English sēd, sǣd (“seed, that which is sown”), from Proto-West Germanic *sād, from Proto-Germanic *sēdą, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow, throw”). Cognates Cognate with Yola zeade (“seed”), North Frisian sead, seed, siad, Siid, sädj, säid (“seed”), Saterland Frisian Säid (“seed”), West Frisian sied (“seed”), Dutch zaad (“seed”), German Saat (“seed; sowing”), Limburgish zaod (“seed”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk sæd (“seed”), Faroese and Icelandic sáð (“seed”), Swedish säd (“seed”), Gothic *𐍃𐌴𐌸𐍃 (*sēþs, “seed”); also Latin serō (“to sow, plant”), Latvian sēt (“to sow”), Lithuanian sėti (“to sow”), Bulgarian се́я (séja, “to sow, plant”), Czech sít (“to sow”), Macedonian сее (see, “to sow”), Polish siać (“to sow”), Russian се́ять (séjatʹ, “to sow”), Serbo-Croatian се̏јати, sȅjati, си̏јати, sȉjati (“to sow”), Slovak siať (“to sow”), Slovene sejáti (“to sow”), Ukrainian сі́яти (síjaty, “to sow”). More at sow.

This word in other languages

semilla(Español)semence(Français)Samen(Deutsch)semente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • esed
  • sede
  • seedd
  • sseed

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of seed - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

esed2sede2seedd1sseed1
Edit distance from "seed"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "seed"?
"seed" is spelled S-E-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /siːd/.
What does "seed" mean?
As a noun, "seed" means: Any propagative portion of a plant which may be sown, such as true seeds, seed-like fruits, tubers, or bulbs.
What words are commonly confused with "seed"?
"seed" is commonly confused with "she", "set", "sex". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "seed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "seed" is /siːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "seed"?
] From Middle English seed, sede, side, from Old English sēd, sǣd (“seed, that which is sown”), from Proto-West Germanic *sād, from Proto-Germanic *sēdą, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow, throw”). Cognates Cognate with Yola zeade (“seed”),... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "seed", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ward#3,854Phil#3,833coat#3,867hook#3,816

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list