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

My cousins on the farm must pay for fertilizer in April but won’t have soybeans to sell until October. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 23 Nov. 2025

For one, the USDA’s figures for soybean exports could be skewed and harder for economists and farmers to interpret. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2025

Prices remain roughly 40% to 50% below pre-2018 levels, and farmers are storing record volumes of unsold soybeans. —Kee Hyun Park, The Conversation, 20 Nov. 2025

Miso is a paste made from fermented soybeans, water, salt, and a special mold called koji. —Lauren Manaker, SELF, 18 Nov. 2025

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