starch

American  

[stahrch] / stɑrtʃ /

noun

• starches
  plural

1. a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C 6 H 1 0 O5 ) n , occurring in the form of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetable foods.

2. a commercial preparation of this substance used to stiffen textile fabrics in laundering.

3. starches, foods rich in natural starch.

4. stiffness or formality, as of manner.

   He is so full of starch he can't relax.

5. Informal. physical or mental energy; vigor.

   Synonyms:

   boldness, stamina, energy

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verb (used with object)

• starches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• starched,
  past participle,  past
• starching
  present participle

1. to stiffen or treat with starch.

2. to make stiff or rigidly formal (sometimes followed byup ).

starch British  

/ stɑːtʃ /

noun

1. a polysaccharide composed of glucose units that occurs widely in plant tissues in the form of storage granules, consisting of amylose and amylopectin

2. Also called: amylum.  a starch obtained from potatoes and some grain: it is fine white powder that forms a translucent viscous solution on boiling with water and is used to stiffen fabric and in many industrial processes

3. any food containing a large amount of starch, such as rice and potatoes

4. stiff or pompous formality of manner or conduct

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verb

1. (tr) to stiffen with or soak in starch

adjective

1. (of a person) formal; stiff

starch Scientific  

/ stärch /

1. A carbohydrate that is the chief form of stored energy in plants, especially wheat, corn, rice, and potatoes. Starch is a mixture of two different polysaccharides built out of glucose units, and forms a white, tasteless powder when purified. It is an important source of nutrition and is also used to make adhesives, paper, and textiles.

2. Any of various substances, including natural starch, used to stiffen fabrics.

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starch Idioms  

1. see take the starch out of.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• starcher
  noun
• overstarch
  verb (used with object)
• overstarched
  adjective
• starchless
  adjective
• starchlike
  adjective
• unstarched
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• starches
  plural

Participles

• starching
  present
• starched
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• starch
  simple
• starches
  simple
• have starched
  perfect
• has starched
  perfect
• am starching
  progressive
• are starching
  progressive
• is starching
  progressive
• have been starching
  perfect progressive
• has been starching
  perfect progressive

Past

• starched
  simple
• had starched
  perfect
• was starching
  progressive
• were starching
  progressive
• had been starching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will starch
  simple
• will have starched
  perfect
• will be starching
  progressive
• will have been starching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of starch

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English (verb) sterchen originally, “to stiffen,” Old English stercean “to make stiff, strengthen,” derivative of stearc “stiff, firm”; cognate with German stärken “to strengthen”; see origin at stark

Explanation

Starch is the stuff that makes your shirt collar look crisp and fresh. It's also the complex carbohydrate that potatoes and rice — foods that are called starches — have lots of. Starch can also be a verb. You can starch your shirt by adding starch, which is a white powder, to the rinse water. You can also get the kind of starch that comes as a spray, which you squirt on your shirt while you're ironing it. Cornstarch, which is also a white powder, is used to thicken sauces or make egg whites stand in stiff peaks when you beat them.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

starch starches starched starching

In industrial production, bacteria are grown inside large fermentation tanks and given carbon-rich materials such as sugars, starch, or plant oils.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

“It just kind of took the starch out of everything,” said Aron Wellman, managing partner of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, co-owner of the 4-year-old colt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026

The adjacent "mipyme" -- Cuba's acronym for small business which is used as shorthand for any private enterprise -- is a picture of plenty, offering everything from rice, Cuba's staple starch, to rum and ketchup.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Fermentation is a biological process whereby organisms convert carbohydrates like starch or sugar into substances like alcohol, without using oxygen.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

“No, not synthetic starch and cotton-waste flour-substitute,” he had insisted.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

They contain enzymes to break down proteins and starches, and surfactants so water spreads and cleans better.

From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026

In boiling water, the vegetable’s starches begin to convert to sugars, bringing out a natural sweetness.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025

The predominant biofuel option on the market today is generated from corn, in part because, the researchers said, their starches break down easily.

From Science Daily ● May 7, 2024

These collapsed starches are harder for the enzymes in our digestive tract to break down — which means its also harder for our cells to get hold of the sugar these starches contain.

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2024

I was supposed to be on this diet where you eat a lot of starches and crap, to gain weight and all, but I didn't ever do it.

From "The Catcher in the Rye" by J. D. Salinger

Cipriano, 35, a man of starched white shirts, neatly-parted hair and wire-rimmed glasses, resembles a Brooks Brothers mannequin.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026

“The Gilded Age” has always plied high-toned melodrama as its chief asset, but Season 3 ripens the starched formality of previous episodes into succulence.

From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2025

As he eases along the campaign trail, Schiff is the unflappable man, sober and buttoned-down as the starched white shirt he wears beneath a standard-issue uniform of navy-blue suit and muted tie.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2024

The software used by the engineers at the truss manufacturing plant allowed the designer to make the trusses stiffer than an old-fashioned starched shirt collar.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 25, 2023

It was starched as stiff as a gingerbread man.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Every day, he’d get up at 6 a.m., pop his oldies tape in his cassette player, pull down the ironing board built into the wall of his 1920s childhood home and start starching.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2023

There he would be, relaxing in front of Match of the Day, while methodically folding his charcoal cashmere jumpers and starching his blue shirts.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 5, 2019

An exhausted woman in an Arizona State sweatshirt inspects my shirt for proper starching before handing me a questionnaire in which I am asked to detail my gastrointestinal health:

From Salon ● Feb. 25, 2017

Or it could mean a Kangol hat, some Cazal shades, ultra-baggy pants or Adidas with fat laces that required stretching, starching and pressing to perfect the look.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 24, 2015

It was tiresome wearing the same dress every day that I worked, starching up the collar and dab-washing the armpits every night so it would be dry by the next morning.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• carbohydrate
• sugar