What does reseed mean?
Reseed means to sow seeds again, most often in a field, lawn, garden bed, or other area where vegetation has become thin or disappeared. A person might reseed a damaged lawn after a drought, or reseed a pond with fish or plant life. The verb can also mean replenishing an area with new inhabitants more generally. In computing, reseeding refers to restarting a pseudorandom-number generator with a specified initial value, which can produce either the same sequence again or a different, more varied sequence. The word conveys restoration and renewal: it is not merely planting for the first time, but beginning again after the original population or cycle has been exhausted, lost, or rendered repetitive.
verbTo sow seeds again, especially to replace plants in an existing area. By extension, to replenish with new occupants or generate another sequence of results using an initial seed, especially in computing.
- To sow seeds again in an area where seeds have already been planted or where vegetation is sparse.
- To introduce organisms or other inhabitants into an area again so that it becomes populated.
- To generate another sequence of pseudorandom values using a specified or newly chosen initial value.
"After the harsh winter killed much of the grass, she reseeded the bare patches in early spring."
"The farmer reseeded the field after the first crop failed."
"The developer reseeded the random-number generator to obtain a different sequence of values."
Reseed gives depleted ground or a predictable computer process a fresh start.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reseed come from?
Reseed was formed in English by combining the prefix re- with seed, so its meaning has developed naturally from sowing again or restoring the original seed. Seed itself comes from Old English sæd and ultimately from Latin sementum, meaning “seed,” which is related to Latin semen, the source of words such as seminal, seminar, and seminary.
Related word forms
How reseed is actually used
The word is relatively uncommon in everyday speech but common in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, and computing. It usually means beginning again or restoring what has been depleted.