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

This week, China, a top soybean importer, bought more than 3 million metric tons of the commodity from the US, a volume that surprised the market. —Jennifer Jacobs, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2023

But Greenville is flat and landlocked, its miles of soybean fields crossed with strip malls and industrial parks. —Taylor Lorenz, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023

The Agriculture Department reported Monday that the country likely exported a record-high 13.2 million tons of soybean meal in the year ended Sept. 30, valued at nearly $7 billion, because of soaring domestic demand for soybean oil. —Bob Henderson, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2023

Trisha and Brian had built the small box blind overlooking soybean fields and patchy timber, and that’s where Trisha was hunting when a doe appeared. —Outdoor Life, 18 Oct. 2023

First, soybeans are soaked and ground with water, to make soy milk. —Shauna Lyon, The New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2023

The money will be used to purchase about 800 acres in Lonoke County for a row crop rice and soybean farm to lease, the trustees learned. —Michael R. Wickline, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2023

As a teenager she was enlisted in the laborious brining and fermenting of soybeans and cooked barley to create doenjang. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2023

The Midwest grows most of the nation’s corn and soybeans. —Scott McFetridge, Chicago Tribune, 18 Sep. 2023

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Word History

First Known Use

1795, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing soybean

• soybean oil

• soybean oil

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