# starch vs stare

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### starch
*noun · IPA /stɑɹt͡ʃ/ · frequency rank #19,706*
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.

### stare
*verb · IPA /stɛɚ/ · frequency rank #8,211*
To look fixedly (at something).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/starch-vs-stare