soy sauce

noun

variants or less commonly soy or chiefly British soya sauce

: a brown, salty liquid that is made by subjecting soybeans and roasted grain (such as wheat) to long fermentation in brine and is used especially in Asian cooking and as a condiment

At its most basic, soy sauce is a fermented liquid made from soybeans and wheat. Soybeans contribute a strong, pungent taste, while wheat lends sweetness.

—Lisa McManuse

My most recent kick has been Chinese. For more than a year now I've been stir-frying everything in ginger and garlic and adding soy sauce.

—Andrew A. Rooney

see shoyu

Examples of soy sauce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a large bowl, use your hands to gently mix the pork, three-quarters of the scallions, the egg, 2 teaspoons of the ginger, the soy sauce or tamari, sesame oil, sugar and salt until evenly combined. —The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2025

Add fried tofu, celery, ginger, chile, green onion, soy sauce, crunchy garlic and sesame oil to pan. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 Jan. 2025

Yasuo Yamamoto, a fifth-generation Japanese soy sauce brewer, has been working to educate people about the authentic taste of soy sauce. —Joan Gaylord, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Jan. 2025

Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and soy sauce, and bring the pot back up to a simmer. —Luke Fortney, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1775, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for soy sauce

• across
• backcross
• crisscross
• lacrosse
• recross
• tomas
• albatross
• applesauce
• barabbas
• helios
• kshatriyas
• blas

Kids Definition

soy sauce

noun

: a brown sauce made from soybeans and used especially in Chinese and Japanese cooking