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

Santa Barbara uni is suspended over tofu made with soy milk from Hodo Foods, the Bay Area’s favorite purveyor, dressed in a clean gingery soy sauce. —The Bon Appétit Staff, Bon Appetit Magazine, 12 Sep. 2025

Our latest chicken cutlet recipe is no exception, flavored with honey, garlic, soy sauce for depth, and a touch of fresh chile garlic paste (sambal oelek). —Elizabeth Nelson, Southern Living, 12 Sep. 2025

Riki poured some soy sauce into a dish and dipped her egg into it. —Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2025

Mix soy sauce and 3 teaspoons oil together in a small bowl. —Linda Gassenheimer, Boston Herald, 10 Sep. 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