phrasal verb / idiom · neutral
run to seed
/rʌn tə siːd/run·to·SEED
speakingtask2
to deteriorate or go into a bad condition because of neglect
Examples
“After the factory closed, the district ran to seed.”
“Without regular maintenance the estate ran to seed within a few years.”
“The town ran to seed during the economic downturn.”
Band 8 sentence
“Many inner-city parks have run to seed in the past decade due to budget cuts.”
Collocations
- run to seed over time
- neighborhood run to seed
- run to seed after neglect
Word family
run verbseed noun
Common mistakes
run to the seed→run to seed
run to seed (use literally about plants only)→run to seed (idiomatic: dùng cho nơi chốn/tình trạng)
Say it for a higher band
5deteriorate→6decay→7+run to seed
Synonyms
deteriorate
decay
Easily confused
go to seed
“Many old buildings have run to seed since the industry left the town.”
Related words
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In run …
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