soy

noun

ˈsȯi 

1

or chiefly British soya

ˈsȯi-ə 

: soybean

Products that contain isoflavones—and are commonly called phytoestrogens—come from plants and legumes (such as soy), and show promise for decreasing hot flashes and may improve cholesterol.

—Michelle P. Warren

Producing meat in this ever-more crowded world requires creating new pastures and planting more land for imported feeds, particularly soy, instead of relying on local grazing.

—The New York Times

—often used before another noun

soy milk

soy protein

a soy latte [=a latte made with soy milk]

2

: a food product made from or containing soy beans: such as

a

: soy sauce

Roy Choi, the Los Angeles restaurateur, advises sneaking a pat of butter and a splash of soy into instant ramen.

—Sam Sifton

b

: tofu, bean curd

In this narrow slice of a restaurant, house-made fried tofu in three flavors … draws crowds for good reason: The shop renders soy into cubes as light and fluffy as scrambled eggs.

—Washingtonian

Examples of soy in a Sentence

His book promotes the health benefits of soy.

The recipe calls for two tablespoons of soy.

Recent Examples on the Web

The products were recalled because of the undeclared presence of major food allergens—including milk, eggs, soy ingredients (soybean oil, soy lecithin), wheat and tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts). —Matthew Robinson, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 June 2025

The soy candle is apricot-scented as a wink to Quint’s apricot brandy. —Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 27 June 2025

The sunflower-oil market, dominated by Ukraine (50%) and Russia (17%), is particularly vulnerable: March 2022 saw a one-month price jump of 23% alone, and experts now predict possible increases of 40-60% during an export halt, with ripple effects raising palm and soy oil by 20-30%, as well. —Daniel Markind, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Heat waves and drought driven by fossil fuel burning could mean a collapse of Midwestern corn and soy yields later this century, said study co-author Andrew Hultgren of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. —Saul Elbein, The Hill, 18 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Japanese shōyu

First Known Use

1696, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing soy

• soy milk
• soy sauce

Rhymes for soy

• boy
• choy
• coy
• croy
• foy
• hoi
• hoy
• joy
• loy
• oy
• ploy
• toy

Kids Definition

soy

noun

ˈsȯi 

1

: soy sauce

2

: soybean