Definition of "starch" [starch]

• A naturally abundant nutrient carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, found chiefly in the seeds, fruits, tubers, roots, and stem pith of plants, notably in corn, potatoes, wheat, and rice, and varying widely in appearance according to source but commonly prepared as a white amorphous tasteless powder. (noun)
• Any of various substances, such as natural starch, used to stiffen cloth, as in laundering. (noun)
• Foods having a high content of starch, as rice, breads, and potatoes. (noun)
• Stiff behavior. (noun)
• Vigor; mettle: "Business travel can take the starch out of the most self-assured corporate titan” ( Lisa Faye Kaplan). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You can also get them with potatoes, but I tend to not add those since starch within starch is just a bit much."
• "The word starch dates from the 15th century, and comes from a German root that means “to stiffen, to make rigid,” which is also what starch does to convert bread dough into bread."
• "The degree to which our starch is awash is exhibited in the behaviour of so many of our captives, but especially in these two."