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

Brazil is the world’s largest soybean producer, accounting for about 40% of global output. — ABC News, 12 Aug. 2026

When corn and soybeans are moving, a truck parked at a shop is a truck losing its share of a short window. — Malana Vantyler, Ascend Agency, 11 Aug. 2026

China’s food imports reached $215 billion in 2023, the world’s largest at the time, with nearly 85 percent of its soybeans, more than 67 percent of its oil crops and nuts, and nearly 25 percent of its beef coming from foreign suppliers. — Caitlin Welsh, Foreign Affairs, 11 Aug. 2026

In my childhood, the season began with asparagus and strawberries ready to harvest by the armful, then soybeans growing taller in the fields while the winter wheat turned its famous amber shades. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 9 Aug. 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
• arene
• athene
• baleen
• beeline
• benzene
• between
• bromine

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