seed corn

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   Grain kept aside to be planted for the next season's crop rather than eaten.

   Grammar: Usually uncountable, so it takes a singular verb: the seed corn is stored.

   Patterns

   • store seed corn
   • save seed corn
   • plant seed corn

   The farmers stored enough seed corn to plant the whole field in spring.

   After a poor harvest, many families had to eat their seed corn to survive.

   Good seed corn must be kept dry and away from pests.

2. 2noununcountablefigurativebusiness

   Money or resources saved to fund future growth instead of being spent now.

   Grammar: Used figuratively in business writing, often with verbs like use or eat into.

   Patterns

   • use something as seed corn
   • eat into the seed corn
   • seed corn funding

   The startup treated its first investment as seed corn for expansion.

   Cutting training budgets eats into the seed corn of the company's future.

Common combinations

seed corn funding

The charity provided seed corn funding for small local projects.

eat the seed corn

Spending all our reserves now would be eating the seed corn.

seed corn capital

They raised seed corn capital to launch the new product line.

keep back seed corn

Wise farmers always keep back some seed corn for a bad year.

Synonyms and how they differ

seed grain

Seed grain is a plain description of grain for planting; seed corn is the more traditional farming term.

startup capital

Startup capital fits business contexts better than the figurative seed corn, which suggests something precious saved for the future.

Word family

seed noun

The small part of a plant from which a new plant grows.

corn noun

The grain of a cereal crop, especially maize in American English.

seedbed noun

A bed of soil where seeds are planted.

Commonly confused: seed corn or seedcorn?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “seed corn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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