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

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Etymology

Origin of soy sauce

First recorded in 1785–95

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

soy sauce

Something punchy: Small bottles of white balsamic and red wine vinegar, hot sauce, good olive oil and soy sauce.

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 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

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

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

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

I poured soy sauce into the whole mess and shouted, “Lunch is ready.”

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

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