What does "soy" mean?
A common East Asian liquid sauce, made by subjecting boiled beans to long fermentation and then long digestion in salt and water.
Soy
/sɔɪ/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A common East Asian liquid sauce, made by subjecting boiled beans to long fermentation and then long digestion in salt and water.
- Grammar: soy is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: glycine max, soya bean, soybean, condiment.
- Usage evidence: The company produces soy sauce and other food products.
How to use "soy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "soy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "soy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "soy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "soy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "soy" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "glycine max" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "soy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A common East Asian liquid sauce, made by subjecting boiled beans to long fermentation and then long digestion in salt and water. uncountable, usually
"I like a little soy with my rice."
- 2 Silk. Scotland, archaic, uncountable
"GILDEROY was a bonnie boy, / Had roſes tull his ſhoone, / His ſtockings were of ſilken ſoy, / Wi' garters hanging doune: […]"
- 3 the most highly proteinaceous vegetable known; the fruit of the soybean plant is used in a variety of foods and as fodder (especially as a replacement for animal protein) wordnet
- 4 Soybeans, or the protein derived from them. attributive, often, uncountable, usually
"These candles are made from soy."
- 5 thin sauce made of fermented soy beans wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 erect bushy hairy annual herb having trifoliate leaves and purple to pink flowers; extensively cultivated for food and forage and soil improvement but especially for its nutritious oil-rich seeds; native to Asia wordnet
- 7 a source of oil; used for forage and soil improvement and as food wordnet
Verb
- 1 Synonym of soy out (“to act in the manner of a soy boy”). Internet, derogatory, intransitive, uncommon
"Soying over a video game."
Adjective
- 1 Characteristic of a soy boy; weak, unmasculine, etc. Internet, derogatory
"This whole drama is the soyest thing I've ever seen."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The company produces soy sauce and other food products."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "soy"?
Common synonyms include: glycine max, soya bean, soybean, condiment, pepper, salt.
How do you use "soy" in a sentence?
The company produces soy sauce and other food products.
How do you pronounce "soy"?
Pronounced /sɔɪ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Chinese 醬油 /酱油 (jiàngyóu)obor. Japanese 醤油 Japanese そやbor. Dutch sojabor. English soy 1670s; borrowed from Dutch soja, from Satsuma Japanese 醤油 (そい, soi), variant of the standard Japanese 醤油 (しょうゆ, shōyu). Doublet of shoyu, orthographic borrowing from Middle Chinese 醬油 (tsjàng-yuw), from 醬 (tsjangᴴ, “bean paste”) + 油 (“oil”).
Etymology 2
Borrowed from French soie (“silk”), soye, from Middle French soye, from Old French soie, earlier seie, from Latin sēta, saeta, from Proto-Italic *saitā, from Proto-Indo-European *séh₂ito-, *sh₂éyto-, from *sh₂ey-, *seh₂i- (“to bind”). Doublet of seta.
Etymology 3
Various origins: * Borrowed from Khmer សយ (sɑɑy, “mane”), probably a nickname. * Probably a clipping of Soya, a surname of Kashmiri origin. * Borrowed from Turkish Soy, a nickname from soy (“ancestry, lineage, descent”).