ferment

[ noun fur-ment; verb fer-ment ]

/ noun ˈfɜr mɛnt; verb fərˈmɛnt /

See synonyms for: ferment / fermented on Thesaurus.com

noun

Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.

Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.

fermentation.

agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult: The new painters worked in a creative ferment. The capital lived in a political ferment.

verb (used with object)

to act upon as a ferment.

to cause to undergo fermentation.

to inflame; foment: to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.

to cause agitation or excitement in: Reading fermented his active imagination.

verb (used without object)

to be fermented; undergo fermentation.

to seethe with agitation or excitement.

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Origin of ferment

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin fermentum yeast (noun), fermentāre to cause to rise (v.); akin to barm, Latin fervēre to boil

OTHER WORDS FROM ferment

fer·ment·a·ble, adjectivefer·ment·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·fer·ment·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·fer·ment·a·ble, adjective

non·fer·ment·ed, adjectivenon·fer·ment·ing, adjectiveun·fer·ment·a·ble, adjectiveun·fer·ment·ed, adjectiveun·fer·ment·ing, adjectivewell-fer·ment·ed, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ferment

ferment , foment

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for ferment

If you’re serving a plant-based Thanksgiving, or just want to try flavoring your gravy another way, wine — fortified or not — cider, vinegar, herbs, ferments, spices and aromatic vegetables are your best bets.
How to make pan gravy with or without meat drippings|Daniela Galarza|November 11, 2020|Washington Post
That means that Champagne is fermented a second time in the bottle when sealed closed, which naturally produces the bubbles.
Champagne: You’re Drinking It All Wrong|Kayleigh Kulp|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The malted barley, yeast, and water are cooked, fermented, and distilled exactly the same.
How Much Do Whisky Casks Really Affect Taste?||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some of the most popular include Kriek (fermented with sour cherries), Framboise (raspberries), and Pêche (peaches).
Wine Snobs, There’s a Beer for You|Jordan Salcito|April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Their partnership was fermented in the most unlikely of places.
New Site RYOT Combines Breaking News With Activism|Nina Strochlic|July 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
That sugar juice is then fermented in a process nearly identical to that used to make rum.
How Wall Street Will Ruin the Environment|Robert Bryce|June 26, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Drink but little, or rather no distilled liquors; wine and fermented liquors are much to be preferred.
A Collection of Essays and Fugitiv Writings|Noah Webster
At intervals he abstained from all fermented liquors for a long time.
The Town|Leigh Hunt
It was on the action, both at a distance and by direct contact, of certain medicated or fermented substances on hypnotic subjects.
Buchanan's Journal of Man, November 1887|Various
In dyspepsia, heartburn, &c., arising from excessive indulgence in spirituous or fermented liquors.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II|Arnold Cooley
They also fermented it by mixing with water, and made their famous tis-win or whiskey from it.
Aw-Aw-Tam Indian Nights|J. William Lloyd

British Dictionary definitions for ferment

ferment

noun (ˈfɜːmɛnt)

any agent or substance, such as a bacterium, mould, yeast, or enzyme, that causes fermentation

another word for fermentation

commotion; unrest

verb (fəˈmɛnt)

to undergo or cause to undergo fermentation

to stir up or seethe with excitement

Derived forms of ferment

fermentable, adjectivefermentability, nounfermenter, noun

Word Origin for ferment

C15: from Latin fermentum yeast, from fervēre to seethe

undefined ferment

See foment

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for ferment

ferment

[ fûr′mĕnt′ ]

n.

An agent, as a yeast, bacterium, mold, or enzyme, that causes fermentation.

Fermentation.

v.

To cause or undergo fermentation.

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