What does "yeast" mean?
An often humid, yellowish froth produced by fermenting malt worts, and used to brew beer, leaven bread, and also used in certain medicines.
Yeast
/jiːst/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An often humid, yellowish froth produced by fermenting malt worts, and used to brew beer, leaven bread, and also used in certain medicines.
- Grammar: yeast is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: agent, alterant, alterative, alterer.
- Useful contrasts: fungal multicellular, unleavened dough.
- Usage evidence: Bread is made from flour, water and yeast.
How to use "yeast"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "yeast" 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 "yeast" 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 "yeast" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "yeast" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- 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 "yeast" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
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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.
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Final meaning check
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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 An often humid, yellowish froth produced by fermenting malt worts, and used to brew beer, leaven bread, and also used in certain medicines. countable, uncountable
- 2 any of various single-celled fungi that reproduce asexually by budding or division wordnet
- 3 A single-celled fungus of a wide variety of taxonomic families. countable, uncountable
"A microscopical examination of the yeast taken from these rapid vigorous fermentations will only be able to give useful conclusions in one respect."
- 4 a commercial leavening agent containing yeast cells; used to raise the dough in making bread and for fermenting beer or whiskey wordnet
- 5 A single-celled fungus of a wide variety of taxonomic families.; A true yeast or budding yeast in order Saccharomycetales.; baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae countable, uncountable
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A single-celled fungus of a wide variety of taxonomic families.; A true yeast or budding yeast in order Saccharomycetales.; baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; A compressed cake or dried granules of this substance used for mixing with flour to make bread dough rise. countable, uncountable
- 7 A single-celled fungus of a wide variety of taxonomic families.; A true yeast or budding yeast in order Saccharomycetales.; brewer's yeast, certain species of Saccharomyces, principally Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Saccharomyces carlsbergensis. countable, uncountable
- 8 A single-celled fungus of a wide variety of taxonomic families.; Candida, a ubiquitous fungus that can cause various kinds of infections in humans. countable, uncountable
- 9 A single-celled fungus of a wide variety of taxonomic families.; Candida, a ubiquitous fungus that can cause various kinds of infections in humans.; The resulting infection, candidiasis. countable, uncountable
- 10 A frothy foam. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"But what most puzzled and confounded you was a long, limber, portentous, black mass of something hovering in the centre of the picture over three blue, dim, perpendicular lines floating in a nameless yeast."
Verb
- 1 To ferment.
- 2 To rise.
- 3 To exaggerate. slang
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
fungal multicellularunleavened dough
Example
"Bread is made from flour, water and yeast."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "yeast"?
Common synonyms include: agent, alterant, alterative, alterer, barm, catalyst.
How do you use "yeast" in a sentence?
Bread is made from flour, water and yeast.
How do you pronounce "yeast"?
Pronounced /jiːst/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English yest, yeest, gest, gist, from Old English ġist, ġyst, from Proto-West Germanic *jestu, from Proto-Germanic *jestuz. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Jääst (“yeast”), West Frisian gêst, gist (“yeast”), Dutch gist (“yeast”), German Low German Gest (“yeast”), German Gischt (“sea foam”), Swedish jäst (“yeast”), Norwegian jest (“yeast”), Icelandic jöstur (“yeast”).
Etymology 2
Unexplained.