starch

[stahrch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR starch ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)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.

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

starches, foods rich in natural starch.

stiffness or formality, as of manner: He is so full of starch he can't relax.

Informal. vigor; energy; stamina; boldness.

verb (used with object)

to stiffen or treat with starch.

to make stiff or rigidly formal (sometimes followed by up).

Origin of starch

1375–1425; (v.) late Middle English sterchen orig., to stiffen, Old English stercean to make stiff, strengthen, derivative of stearc stark; cognate with German stärken to strengthen; (noun) late Middle English starch(e), sterche, derivative of the v.

Related formsstarch·less, adjectivestarch·like, adjectiveo·ver·starch, verb (used with object)o·ver·starched, adjectiveun·starched, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for starch

carbohydrate, sugar, sizing, polysaccharide, glycogen, ceremony, decorum, formality, stiffness, vigor, boldness, energy, pluck, stamina, vitality, strength, gumption, backbone, drive, push

Examples from the Web for starch

Contemporary Examples of starch

Sugar and lots of starch will give you a boost followed by a crash that will end your late night partying.
Five Healthy—and Legal—Ways to Stay Awake Longer
Dave Asprey
December 4, 2013
Making it with quinoa instead of rice gives you the wonderful taste and comfort of risotto without all that starch.
Three Quinoa Recipes for Your Weekend Parties
Jane Coxwell
May 26, 2013
Tsai: The ratio of vegetables to meat to starch is much higher.
Five World-Famous Chefs Give Their Take on the Asian-Food Craze in America
Marlow Stern
April 29, 2012

Historical Examples of starch

I honor the girl's spirit for not disguising it with starch and pomatum.
Graham's Magazine Vol. XXXII No. 2. February 1848
Various
Starch is made from it both for the laundry and for the manufacture of farina, dextrin, etc.
Storyology
Benjamin Taylor
The dried pulp from which the starch has been extracted is used for making boxes.
Storyology
Benjamin Taylor
That dust, on being transferred to the stage of a microscope, was found to contain an enormous number of starch grains.
The Method By Which The Causes Of The Present And Past Conditions Of Organic Nature Are To Be Discovered.--The Origination Of Living Beings
Thomas H. Huxley
It is these starch grains which form many of those bright specks that we see dancing in a ray of light sometimes.
The Method By Which The Causes Of The Present And Past Conditions Of Organic Nature Are To Be Discovered.--The Origination Of Living Beings
Thomas H. Huxley

British Dictionary definitions for starch

starch

noun

a polysaccharide composed of glucose units that occurs widely in plant tissues in the form of storage granules, consisting of amylose and amylopectinRelated adjective: amylaceous

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

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

stiff or pompous formality of manner or conduct

verb

(tr) to stiffen with or soak in starch

adjective

(of a person) formal; stiff

Derived Formsstarcher, nounstarchlike, adjective

Word Origin for starch

Old English stercan (unattested except by the past participle sterced) to stiffen; related to Old Saxon sterkian, Old High German sterken to strengthen, Dutch sterken; see stark

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

Word Origin and History for starch

c.1400, from Old English *stercan (Mercian), *stiercan (West Saxon) "make rigid," found in stercedferhð "fixed, hard, resolute" (related to stearc "stiff"), from Proto-Germanic *starkijanan (cf. German Stärke "strength, starch"), from PIE root *ster- "strong, firm, stiff, rigid" (see stark). Related: Starched; starching.

"pasty substance used to stiffen cloth," mid-15c., from starch (v.). Figurative sense of "stiffness of manner" is recorded from 1705.

starch in Medicine

starch

[stärch]

n.

A naturally abundant nutrient carbohydrate found chiefly in the seeds, fruits, tubers, roots, and stem pith of plants, and commonly prepared as a white, amorphous, tasteless powder used in powders, ointments, and pastes.amylum

A food having a high content of starch, such as rice, bread, and potatoes.

starch in Science

starch

[stärch]

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.

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

Idioms and Phrases with starch

starch

see take the starch out of.