soy sauce

American  

[soi saws] / ˈsɔɪ ˌsɔs /

especially British, soya sauce

noun

soy sauces plural

1. a salty, fermented sauce prepared from soybeans, used in East Asian cuisine.

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soy sauce British  

/ sɔɪ /

noun

1. Also called: soya sauce.  a salty dark brown sauce made from fermented soya beans, used esp in Japanese and Chinese cookery

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• soy sauces
  plural

Etymology

Origin of soy sauce

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

soy sauce

Scallions and soy sauce arrived because I add them to almost everything, occasionally without proper cause.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

He tweaks the flavor by adding fresh ingredients, including fish sauce, soy sauce, chunks of beef and sachets of Chinese herbs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

A household name in Japan, Calbee is known for its savoury potato chips with an array of flavours from seaweed salt to soy sauce and butter.

From Barron's ● May 12, 2026

Add a few cool slices of avocado and a drizzle of soy sauce and suddenly the whole thing feels improbably complete: creamy, salty, bright, rich.

From Salon ● May 12, 2026

She returned, without the crab, but with more bowls of soy sauce, ginger, and scallions.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan