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cornstarch

American

[kawrn-stahrch] / ˈkɔrnˌstɑrtʃ /

noun

a starch or a starchy flour made from corn and used for thickening gravies and sauces, making puddings, etc.

cornstarch British

/ ˈkɔːnˌstɑːtʃ /

noun

Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): cornflour. a fine starchy maize flour, used esp for thickening sauces

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

cornstarches

plural

Etymology

Origin of cornstarch

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; corn ¹ + starch

Compare meaning

How does cornstarch compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

cornmeal vs. cornstarch

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

cornstarch

Other ingredients include salt, monosodium glutamate, cornstarch and beta carotene for color.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025

If you don’t, a tiny cornstarch slurry will bring it together in minutes.

From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2025

The company discontinued mineral-based talc in North America in 2020 - and followed suit in the UK last year - replacing it with cornstarch.

From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2024

Hall, then 24, had originally set out to create the world’s most comfortable chair, filling a plastic sack with gelatin and then cornstarch with disappointing results.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024

She listened to what Ruth said and sent Reba to the store for a box of Argo cornstarch.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023