germination
Americannoun
plural
germinations-
the process of germinating or of beginning to exist and develop; the very first stage of the development of anything.
-
Botany. the process by which a seed, spore, or bulb becomes a plant.
Closer Look
Dormant seeds are very dry and require the absorption of water to initiate the metabolic processes of respiration and begin to digest their stored food. Respiration requires the presence of oxygen, which must be sufficiently available in the soil for germination to proceed, so the soil must be wet but not so waterlogged as to make oxygen inaccessible. Temperatures must be above freezing (zero degrees Celsius) but not excessively hot (not more than about 45 degrees Celsius). If conditions are right, a radicle (an embryonic root) emerges from the seed coat, anchoring the seed; it then grows and puts out lateral roots. In most eudicots, a part of the developing stem, either the epicotyl (the stem above the cotyledons) or the hypocotyl (the stem below the cotyledons) elongates, forming a hook and gradually pulling the seed coat and the delicate shoot tip above the soil surface. Germination of eudicot seeds is normally divided into two types, designated epigeous and hypogeous. In epigeous germination, the cotyledons emerge above the soil surface, and wither and drop off after their food stores have been used up; in hypogeous germination, the cotyledons remain below the surface and decompose after their food stores have been used up. In most monocots, food is stored in the seed's endosperm (rather than the cotyledon), and it is the single tubular cotyledon that elongates and draws the seed coat out of the soil. The cotyledon conducts photosynthesis, making more food, while the shoot grows up inside the tube.
Other Word Forms
- cross-germination noun
- nongermination noun
- post-germination adverb
- pre-germination noun
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"They wanted to play and build stuff. They were making houses or ships or scenery, and they wanted to jump in, and all of that learning was the germination of Roblox," he says.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2025
Last year, the space team studied germination rates of Wisconsin Fast Plants in space.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2024
While thinning can reduce fuels, burning also provides ecological benefits not provided by thinning alone, like creating growing space and receptive seedbeds, promoting germination of seeds stored in soil and increasing nutrient availability.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 20, 2024
The ecosystem’s success once relied on periodic fires, which would promote germination of pine seeds and reduce invasive plants, among other benefits.
From National Geographic • Dec. 7, 2023
Like the changes in seed dispersal, these changes in germination inhibition characterize wheat, barley, peas, and many other crops compared with their wild ancestors.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
