yeast

American  

[yeest] / jist /

noun

• yeasts
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. spume; foam.

4. ferment; agitation.

5. something that causes ferment or agitation.

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verb (used without object)

1. to ferment.

2. to be covered with froth.

yeast British  

/ jiːst /

noun

1. 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

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

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

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

5. froth or foam, esp on beer

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verb

1. (intr) to froth or foam

yeast Scientific  

/ yēst /

1. 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.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• yeastless
  adjective
• yeastlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• yeasts
  plural

Etymology

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

Explanation

Bakers use yeast to turn flat, sticky dough into tall, fluffy bread. The yeast interacts with sugar and fills the bread with pockets of air as it bakes. When you buy yeast for baking cinnamon rolls or rye bread at home, it comes in a small packet and looks like little brownish grains. The first step in using yeast is often mixing it with warm water and a little sugar. When yeast is active, or alive, the mixture quickly becomes bubbly and foamy. Yeast is also used in brewing beer and wine. The word yeast comes from a Germanic root — the German word Gischt, or "froth," is closely related.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

yeast yeasts

Three of the four yeast species have the genetic ability to break down phenol.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

Kennedy flakes the cooled salmon into a metal bowl while Gruel adds an egg, panko, Dijon mustard, chopped red onion, chives, nutritional yeast and avocado-oil mayonnaise.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

The fermentation process creates its own heat as the yeast activates, which Heineken also captures to reuse elsewhere in its beer production, such as to preheat water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Perhaps the best-known examples of fermentation are in baking and brewing, where yeast breaks down sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

The shop was warm and smelled of yeast.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

The scientists discovered four different yeasts that can survive sub-zero temperatures in Oetzi's guts, skin and "brownish" water that melted off his body when he was partially unfrozen.

From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026

At the start of the experiment, the flours showed similar bacterial profiles and contained a variety of yeasts.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 21, 2026

But it turns out this chemical process, in which bacteria, molds or yeasts break down sugar to create simpler compounds, could help alleviate the mounting crisis of food waste.

From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2024

“My kind of first feeling here is that there are unsurveyed environments in China where these yeasts dwell, and that these two patients have been unlucky enough to be exposed.”

From Science Magazine ● Jun. 19, 2024

That was a good sign, because it meant the yeasts were already at work and growing.

From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan

Related Words

• fungus