starch

verb

\ˈstärch

starched; starching; starches

Definition of starch

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

: to stiffen with or as if with starch

starch

noun

Definition of starch (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about starch

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Examples of starch in a Sentence

Verb

He starches the collars of his shirts.

Noun

a middle-aged woman who has retained the starch of youth

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

If there's white cotton curtains in the house, bleaching and starching them while ironing are efforts that go a long way. 6. — Melissa Rolland, courant.com, "Projects That Don't Break The Bank," 19 June 2018 So to a certain extent, Apple has brilliantly taken advantage of the situation and starched their hat white. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Full transcript: NYU professor Scott Galloway answers listener questions on Too Embarrassed to Ask," 26 May 2018 With hair combed neatly to one side, and dressed almost daily in suits that aren’t so much pressed as they are vigorously starched, Becerra is dutifully methodical when performing all the typical functions as California’s attorney general. — Marcos Bretón, sacbee, "When Trump deports immigrants, California’s attorney general remembers his mom and dad," 11 Sep. 2017 Keri Anne Taylor-Melendez (Gilbert Melendez’s wife) just starched her opponent in her MMA debut. # — Jon Becker, The Mercury News, "UFC fighter Melendez’s wife taking huge MMA step," 22 May 2017 His search for something else to use summoned memories of the gooey liquid his mother had used to starch the collars of his father’s shirts. — Denise Gellene, New York Times, "Oliver Smithies, Tinkerer Who Transformed Genetics and Won a Nobel, Dies at 91," 11 Jan. 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Couples raised on food television have a palpable disdain for the old formula of fish, chicken or beef accompanied by a vegetable and a starch. — Karen Stabiner, New York Times, "For the State-of-the-Art Wedding Feast, ‘Look Is Everything’," 18 June 2018 Japchae comes with white yam and bean starch clear noodles stir-fried with onions, bits of beef and slivers of red and orange bell pepper. — Linda Bladholm, miamiherald, "This Korean mom-and-pop restaurant in a Doral strip mall is the real deal | Miami Herald," 16 Mar. 2018 Packing peanuts, for example, are sometimes made with starch instead of styrofoam. — Eva Botkin-kowacki, The Christian Science Monitor, "Closing the loop on plastic recycling?," 5 July 2018 Also, tossing blueberries in corn starch or flour will help them stay suspended. — Molly Kimball, NOLA.com, "Why you should eat blueberries every day (or at least regularly)," 15 May 2018 Rather than freewheeling with such a volatile asset, young fruits usually stockpile starch: millions of sugars threaded together into stable coils, like a botanical trust fund. — Ali Bouzari, San Francisco Chronicle, "Housemade: The science behind the skillets at Miss Ollie’s in Oakland," 16 May 2018 While the mango mixture cooks, whisk the corn starch and 2 tablespoons water in a separate small bowl and quickly whisk it into the mango mixture until the mixture starts to thicken, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. — Nik Sharma, SFChronicle.com, "A Brown Kitchen: Mango layer cake for a fresh summer treat," 11 July 2018 By the 1980s, large corporations had absorbed most regional dairies, and much of the nation’s cottage cheese had become a flat-tasting, low-fat commodity with rubbery curds stabilized with starches and gums. — Kim Severson, New York Times, "Is America Ready to Love Cottage Cheese Again?," 26 June 2018 Nassoura said her mother was like a gourmet cook who made sure to serve a protein, starch and veggie for dinner. — Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "What life is like when your father is the 'Daddy-O of SpaghettiOs,' Waukesha native Donald Goerke," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'starch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Dictionary Entries near starch

Phrases Related to starch

take the starch out of (someone)

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Time Traveler for starch

The first known use of starch was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for starch

starch

verb

English Language Learners Definition of starch

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to make (clothing) stiff by using starch

starch

noun

English Language Learners Definition of starch (Entry 2 of 2)

: a substance that is found in certain foods (such as bread, rice, and potatoes)

: a powder or liquid that contains starch and is used to make clothing stiff

See the full definition for starch in the English Language Learners Dictionary

starch

noun

\ˈstärch

Kids Definition of starch

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a white odorless tasteless substance that is the chief form in which carbohydrates are stored in plants, is an important component of many foods (as rice and bread), and has various uses (as for stiffening clothes)

starch

verb

starched; starching

Kids Definition of starch (Entry 2 of 2)

: to stiffen with starch

starch

noun

\ˈstärch

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