1. Also called organized ferment. any of a group of living organisms, as yeasts, molds, and certain bacteria, that cause fermentation.
2. Also called unorganized ferment. an enzyme.
4. agitation; unrest; excitement; commotion; tumult: The new painters worked in a creative ferment. The capital lived in a political ferment.
1. to act upon as a ferment.
2. to cause to undergo fermentation.
3. to inflame; foment: to ferment prejudiced crowds to riot.
4. to cause agitation or excitement in: Reading fermented his active imagination.
1. to be fermented; undergo fermentation.
2. to seethe with agitation or excitement.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.