ferment
[ noun fur-ment; verb fer-ment ]
/ noun ˈfɜr mɛnt; verb fərˈmɛnt /
Save This Word!
noun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
to be fermented; undergo fermentation.
to seethe with agitation or excitement.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
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
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH ferment
ferment , fomentDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for ferment
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, nounWord 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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.