starch

¹starch

transitive verb \ˈstärch\

Definition of STARCH

: to stiffen with or as if with starch

Examples of STARCH

1. He starches the collars of his shirts.

Origin of STARCH

Middle English sterchen, probably from Old English *stercan to stiffen; akin to Old English stearc stiff — more at stark

First Known Use: 15th century

Rhymes with STARCH

arch, larch, march, parch

²starch

noun

Definition of STARCH

1

: a white odorless tasteless granular or powdery complex carbohydrate (C₆H₁₀O₅)_x that is the chief storage form of carbohydrate in plants, is an important foodstuff, and is used also in adhesives and sizes, in laundering, and in pharmacy and medicine

2

: a stiff formal manner : formality

3

: resolute vigor

Examples of STARCH

1. <a middle-aged woman who has retained the starch of youth>

First Known Use of STARCH

15th century

Related to STARCH

Synonyms

beans, bounce, brio, dash, drive, dynamism, energy, esprit, gas, get-up-and-go, ginger, go, gusto, hardihood, juice, life, moxie, oomph, pep, punch, sap, snap, vigor, verve, vim, vinegar, vitality, zing, zip

Antonyms

lethargy, listlessness, sluggishness, torpidity

Related Words

animal spirits, animation, briskness, jauntiness, liveliness, snappiness, spirit, spiritedness, sprightliness, spunk, spunkiness, vibrance, vibrancy, vivaciousness, vivacity; ardor, élan, fervor, fire, passion, zeal; main, metal, mettle, might, muscle, potency, power, puissance, stamina, strength; brawniness, fitness, hardiness, huskiness, sturdiness, virility; health, healthiness, soundness, verdure, wellness

Near Antonyms

indolence, laziness; debilitation, debility, delicacy, disablement, enfeeblement, faintness, feebleness, frailness, frailty, impotence, impotency, infirmity, powerlessness, puniness, slightness, softness, tenderness, weakness; enervation, exhaustion, inanition, prostration

Other Chemical Engineering Terms

alkali, cation, decant, hygroscopic, isotope, oxidize, slurry, solute, viscous

starch

noun \ˈstärch\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of STARCH

: a white odorless tasteless granular or powdery complex carbohydrate (C₆H₁₀O₅)_x that is the chief storage form of carbohydrate in plants, is an important foodstuff, has demulcent and absorbent properties, and is used in pharmacy especially as a dusting powder and as a constituent of ointments and pastes

starch

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of several white, granular organic compounds produced by all green plants. They are polysaccharides with the general chemical formula (CHO), where n may range from 100 to several thousand; the constituent monosaccharides are glucose units made in photosynthesis. The glucose chains are unbranched in amylose and branched in amylopectin, which occur mixed in starches. Starch consumed by animals is broken down into glucose by enzymes during digestion. Commercial starch is made mainly from corn, though wheat, tapioca, rice, and potato starch are also used. Starch has many uses in foods and the food industry, as well as in the paper, textile, and personal-care products industries and in adhesives, explosives, and oil-well drilling fluids and as a mold-release agent. Animal starch is another name for glycogen. See also carbohydrate.