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

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.

Kenvue no longer sells talc-containing powder and uses cornstarch instead.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 3, 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

If placebo effects were this good, they should just make placebos the way to treat depression—maybe that’s what they did; maybe Zoloft was cornstarch.

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

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