soy sauce

American  

[soi saws] / ˈsɔɪ ˌsɔs /

especially British, soya sauce

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of soy sauce

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

Yasuo Yamamoto grew up playing among old barrels in the storehouse where his family has brewed soy sauce for more than 150 years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Can you walk me through your process of making soy sauce?

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

He told me that I didn’t need to take it over because soy sauce didn’t make much money.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Finish with lime juice, fish sauce or soy sauce, and a handful of herbs.

From Salon • Apr. 3, 2026

When the sprouts are starting to shrivel, I pour in a bunch of soy sauce.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri