soybean

noun

soy·​bean ˈsȯi-ˌbēn 

variants or chiefly British soya bean

ˈsȯi-ə- 

: a hairy annual Asian legume (Glycine max) widely grown for its oil-rich proteinaceous seeds and for forage and soil improvement

also : its seed

Illustration of soybean

Examples of soybean in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s important in Iowa, the nation’s large corn and pork producer, and second-largest soybean producer. —Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register, 27 Jan. 2026

Cabbage, for example, becomes sauerkraut when it’s salted and left to ferment; milk turns into yogurt or kefir when live cultures are added; and soybeans become miso through a long fermentation process. —Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 24 Jan. 2026

The White House subsequently announced that Beijing had agreed to buy at least 12 million tons of American soybeans in 2025, a deadline that later shifted to February. —Hallie Gu, Arkansas Online, 21 Jan. 2026

China has shifted much of its soybean purchases over to Brazil and Argentina in recent years to diversify its sources and find the cheapest deals. —Josh Funk, Fortune, 21 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing soybean

• soybean oil

Rhymes for soybean

• agin
• alkene
• allene
• ameen
• amin
• amine
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between

Kids Definition

soybean

noun

soy·​bean ˈsȯi-ˈbēn 

-ˌbēn

: a hairy annual Asian plant of the legume family widely grown for its edible seeds rich in oil and proteins, as food for livestock, and for soil improvement

also : its seed

Medical Definition

soybean

noun

soy·​bean ˈsȯi-ˌbēn 

variants also soya bean

: a hairy annual Asian legume (Glycine max) grown for its oil-rich proteinaceous seeds and for forage and soil improvement

also : its seed