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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of soy sauce

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

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

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

There are more people in the U.S. who understand the value of our soy sauce than there are in Japan.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

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

And I can’t help but notice something that stands out even more than the bronze lion sculptures and the overpowering aroma of noodles and soy sauce.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman