adjective
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of, relating to, or containing starch
starchy foods
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extremely formal, stiff, or conventional
a starchy manner
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stiffened with starch
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of starchy
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:
Andrew says the "worst offenders" include cereal, scrambled eggs, or starchy food with protein-heavy residues.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
It’s hard to say what percentage of households will be participating in the starchy giveaway on Friday, but we seem to be reaching what could be dubbed the peak of potato.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
Cavities form when bacteria erode tooth enamel, often due to sugary or starchy foods, inadequate brushing, or genetic factors.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
Sondergard demonstrated a sense of grandeur, sometimes shattering, other times starchy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
At first she smells of her freshly ironed uniform, but then I smell the faint scent of cigarettes and oily food lingering behind her starchy presence.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
Firms also want to be able to tailor crops more precisely: producing starchier potatoes for crisp-makers, or protein-rich peas that do not taste like peas for use as a meat substitute.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2023
It’s even possible to make tostones de guineo, the twice-fried snack, and bolitas, a dumpling for soup — both of these are usually made with the starchier green plantain.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 20, 2021
The one packaged as farro was softer, sweeter and much starchier; the grains splayed more quickly than the spelt, which remained chewy even after the grains splayed.
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2014
Along with Momofuku, these new eateries established a contemporary fusion based on flavor and sass—one that was decidedly greasier and starchier than its white-linen ancestor.
From Slate ● Apr. 12, 2012
The less water, the starchier the water — and the starchier the water, the better your still-dripping pasta will taste once it meets up with your sauce.
From Time ● Jun. 29, 2010
If enough top talent is willing to trade the prestige of Goldman for the flexibility of Citigroup, even the starchiest banks may have to relax a bit.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 11, 2021
He appears to be greeted as a hero, or at least a celebrity, passing "crowded porches" and children "washed and dressed in their best and starchiest clothes, hairs bursting with ribbons."
From US News ● Nov. 6, 2014
He appears to be greeted as a hero, or at least a celebrity, passing “crowded porches” and children “washed and dressed in their best and starchiest clothes, hairs bursting with ribbons.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 6, 2014
Some conceal this impulse better than others, but not even the starchiest Brooks character can long resist the lure of a cane, a top hat and an up-tempo riff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2014
The cleanest and starchiest of curtains, the most dazzling and whitest of tidies and chair-covers, bespoke the adjacent laundry; indeed, the whole cottage seemed to exhale the odors of lavender soap and freshly ironed linen.
From A Protegee of Jack Hamlin's and Other Stories by Bret Harte
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
