FluentPlex

starch

/ˈstɑɹt͡ʃ/ noun B2
  1. A widely diffused vegetable substance, found in seeds, bulbs and tubers, as extracted (e.g. from potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) in the form of a white, glistening, granular or powdery substance, without taste or smell, and giving a very peculiar creaking sound when rubbed between the fingers. It is used as a food, in the production of commercial grape sugar, for stiffening linen in laundries, in making paste, etc. (uncountable) · Meronym: saccharide
  2. Carbohydrates, as with grain and potato based foods. (countable)
  3. A stiff, formal manner; formality. (uncountable)
  4. Fortitude. (uncountable)
  5. Any of various starch-like substances used as a laundry stiffener. (countable)

Plural starches

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From the library

Of course it wasn’t exactly necessary to starch Matthew’s handkerchiefs!
Anne of Green Gables, p. 161 · C1
I shall attend to the ironing and baking beautifully--you needn’t fear that I’ll starch the handkerchiefs or flavor the cake with liniment.”
Anne of Green Gables, p. 316 · C1

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Words, meanings, pronunciations and translations from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); how common each word is from wordfreq. Made into this dictionary by FluentPlex.