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

In 1767, Bowen received a British patent for his method of producing soy sauce, a fermented condiment resembling the soy sauce already imported from Asia.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

Both Sakai and Tsugawa highlight the punch of wasabi and the salty complexity of soy sauce as complements to Wagyu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

The magazine also raved about “skinny queen” influencer Amanda Dobler for “not apologizing” after coaching followers to avoid even wasabi and soy sauce, because their negligible calorie counts are deemed excessive.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

For this cold noodle dish from Gu Grocery, blend toasted sesame seeds with soy sauce, rice vinegar, pickled mustard greens, and orange zest and juice for maximum flavor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

Coach handed Lu his utensils and even slid the soy sauce over.

From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds