/ stɑːtʃ; NAmE stɑːrtʃ/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ U , C ] a white carbohydrate food substance found in potatoes, flour, rice, etc.; food containing this :
There's too much starch in your diet.
You need to cut down on starches.
2.
[ U ] starch prepared in powder form or as a spray and used for making clothes, sheets, etc. stiff
■ verb
[ vn ] [ usually passive ] to make clothes, sheets, etc. stiff using starch :
a starched white shirt
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English (recorded only in the past participle sterced stiffened ), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch sterken , German stärken strengthen, also to stark .