yeast

[ yeest ]

/ yist /

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See synonyms for: yeast / yeasted / yeasting on Thesaurus.com

noun

any of various small, single-celled fungi of the phylum Ascomycota that reproduce by fission or budding, the daughter cells often remaining attached, and that are capable of fermenting carbohydrates into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

any of several yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces, used in brewing alcoholic beverages, as a leaven in baking breads, and in pharmacology as a source of vitamins and proteins.Compare bottom yeast, brewer's yeast, top yeast.

spume; foam.

ferment; agitation.

something that causes ferment or agitation.

verb (used without object)

to ferment.

to be covered with froth.

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Origin of yeast

before 1000; Middle English ye(e)st (noun), Old English gist, gyst; cognate with Dutch gist,German Gischt yeast, foam, Old Norse jastr yeast, Greek zestós boiled, Sanskrit yásati (it) boils

OTHER WORDS FROM yeast

yeastless, adjectiveyeastlike, adjective

Words nearby yeast

year-round, year-rounder, year's mind, year zero, yeasayer, yeast, yeast cake, yeast nucleic acid, yeasty, Yeats, Yeats, William Butler

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use yeast in a sentence

The compounds release volatile aromatics as yeast enzymes break bonds even after the bottle is capped.
How does a crop’s environment shape a food’s smell and taste?|Carolyn Beans|September 10, 2020|Science News
People have understood the importance of yeast in wine fermentation for at least two centuries.
How does a crop’s environment shape a food’s smell and taste?|Carolyn Beans|September 10, 2020|Science News
It turns out that yeasts, at least, can sometimes get genes back.
By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity|Viviane Callier|September 1, 2020|Quanta Magazine
These findings suggested that the yeasts independently evolved their unicellular way of life from a multicellular ancestor.
By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity|Viviane Callier|September 1, 2020|Quanta Magazine

In fact, she says, yeasts have lost a variety of genes involved in diverse metabolic pathways and reacquired them from multiple bacteria.
By Losing Genes, Life Often Evolved More Complexity|Viviane Callier|September 1, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The malted barley, yeast, and water are cooked, fermented, and distilled exactly the same.
How Much Do Whisky Casks Really Affect Taste?||December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are vinous, herbaceous, and reminiscent of sourdough yeast starter.
Wine Snobs, There’s a Beer for You|Jordan Salcito|April 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
During fermentation after about 15 percent alcohol, yeast starts producing histamines.
Yes, Women Can Make Great Wine|Jordan Salcito|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Another cure is Kvass, a slightly alcoholic beverage made by soaking dried rye bread with sugar and yeast.
The Wildest Hangover Cures From Around the World|Nina Strochlic|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To make the dough, combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl.
Unusual Pizza to Cook on Your Grill|Lydia Brownlow|June 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Yeast-cells are smooth, colorless, highly refractive, spheric or ovoid cells.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Its disadvantage is that it introduces, with the bread, a variable amount of lactic acid and numerous yeast-cells.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
The microscope commonly shows sarcin, bacteria, and great numbers of yeast-cells.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
Dinner was over; the boys rushed into the playground; neither the yeast dumplings nor the salt beef stuck in their throats.
Digby Heathcote|W.H.G. Kingston
"Yeast that ferments is always sour, my child," replied the baker, reclining his head pensively.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman|Eugne Sue

British Dictionary definitions for yeast

yeast

/ (jiːst) /

noun

any of various single-celled ascomycetous fungi of the genus Saccharomyces and related genera, which reproduce by budding and are able to ferment sugars: a rich source of vitamins of the B complex

any yeastlike fungus, esp of the genus Candida, which can cause thrush in areas infected with it

a commercial preparation containing yeast cells and inert material such as meal, used in raising dough for bread or for fermenting beer, whisky, etcSee also brewer's yeast

a preparation containing yeast cells, used to treat diseases caused by vitamin B deficiency

froth or foam, esp on beer

verb

(intr) to froth or foam

Derived forms of yeast

yeastless, adjectiveyeastlike, adjective

Word Origin for yeast

Old English giest; related to Old Norse jostr, Old High German jesan, Swedish esa, Norwegian asa, Sanskrit yasati

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for yeast

yeast

[ yēst ]

Any of various one-celled fungi that reproduce by budding and can cause the fermentation of carbohydrates, producing carbon dioxide and ethanol. There are some 600 known species of yeast, though they do not form a natural phylogenic group. Most yeasts are ascomycetes, but there are also yeast species among the basidiomycetes and zygomycetes. The budding processes in yeasts show a wide range of variations. In many yeasts, for example, the buds break away as diploid cells. Other yeasts reproduce asexually only after meiosis, and their haploid buds act as gametes that can combine to form a diploid cell, which functions as an ascus and undergoes meiosis to produce haploid spores. Still other yeasts form buds in both haploid and diploid phases. The ascomycete yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is used in baking to produce the carbon dioxide that leavens dough and batter. It has been the subject of extensive research in cell biology, and its genome was the first to be sequenced among eukaryotes. A variety of yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces are used in making beer and wine to provide alcohol content and flavor. Certain other yeasts, such as Candida albicans, are pathogenic in humans.

yeast

Origin of yeast

OTHER WORDS FROM yeast

Words nearby yeast

Words related to yeast

How to use yeast in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for yeast

Derived forms of yeast

Word Origin for yeast

Scientific definitions for yeast