Narrowly beat a seed (3)
I believe the answer is:
pip
I believe this is a double definition.
'narrowly beat' is the first definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a seed' is the second definition.
(thesaurus)
(Other definitions for pip that I've seen before include "tiny bit of fruit" , "Dickensian hero" , "Just beat, often at the post" , "Spot (on card); seed (of fruit)" , "Mark of rank" .)