starch

C1 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /stɑɹtʃ/ UK /stɑːtʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #22565

Meanings

1

noun
a complex carbohydrate stored by plants and found abundantly in foods such as grain and potatoes

Rice supplies much of its food energy in the form of starch.
2

noun
a preparation of starch used to stiffen fabric during laundering

A little starch kept the shirt collar crisp.
3

verb
to stiffen cloth or clothing with starch

They starched the linen before pressing it.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a complex carbohydrate... amylum

2 noun · a preparation of starch... laundry starch

3 verb · to stiffen cloth or... stiffen

Word family

Forms starchedstarchy

Derived forms cornstarchstarchystarchless

Related forms carbohydrateglucosecellulose

Common collocations

cassava starch Noun + noun

Etymology

From Middle English starche and Old English stierce, 'stiffness or rigidity,' from the same Germanic family as stark. The substance was named for its use in making linen stiff; its biochemical sense developed as the plant carbohydrate itself became better understood.

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# starch

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /stɑɹtʃ/
**IPA (UK):** /stɑːtʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 22565

## Meanings
1. a complex carbohydrate stored by plants and found abundantly in foods such as grain and potatoes
2. a preparation of starch used to stiffen fabric during laundering
3. to stiffen cloth or clothing with starch

## Examples
- Rice supplies much of its food energy in the form of starch.
- A little starch kept the shirt collar crisp.
- They starched the linen before pressing it.

## Synonyms
- amylum
- laundry starch

## Derived Forms
- cornstarch
- starchy
- starchless

## Related Forms
- carbohydrate
- glucose
- cellulose

## Etymology
From Middle English starche and Old English stierce, 'stiffness or rigidity,' from the same Germanic family as stark. The substance was named for its use in making linen stiff; its biochemical sense developed as the plant carbohydrate itself became better understood.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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