seed corn
Americannoun
noun
-
the good quality ears or kernels of corn that are used as seed
-
assets or investments that are expected to provide profits in the future
Etymology
Origin of seed corn
First recorded in 1585–95
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.
Mexico was where corn was first domesticated starting around 9,000 years ago, and in order to protect its native varieties, the country will still ban imports of GM seed corn.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 6, 2023
Monsanto now sets the prices for most of the nation's seed corn.
From Salon ● Dec. 1, 2021
“It proves the adage that basic science is the seed corn of societal impact.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2021
He aimed his weapon at the tide, the tracers like wishes or seed corn you scattered away from yourself and that disappeared into someplace you couldn’t see.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 14, 2019
On the first occasion they were lucky enough to find and kill a sick owl that had eaten a mouse that had eaten poison-dressed seed corn.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
