cornstarch

noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cornstarch" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cornstarch” is uncommon English (frequency #52,871 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#52,871
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A very fine starch powder derived from corn (maize) used in cooking as a thickener, to keep things from sticking, or as an anti-caking agent.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cornstarch · cornstarch · English

cornstarch · rank #52,871 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #52,871
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH coot

Nearest frequency peer: coot (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “cornstarch”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “cornstarch” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for cornstarch
PropertyValue
Headwordcornstarch
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters10
Frequency rank#52,871
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “cornstarch” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cornstarchfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “coot” (#52,870), “Conwy” (#52,869), “cruiserweight” (#52,873). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cornstarch” is #52,871. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

cornstarch is uncommon English at frequency #52,871 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A very fine starch powder derived from corn (maize) used in cooking as a thickener, to keep things from sticking, or as an anti-caking agent.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for cornstarch, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From corn + starch. The correct English form is cornstarch, spelled C-O-R-N-S-T-A-R-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    A very fine starch powder derived from corn (maize) used in cooking as a thickener, to keep things from sticking, or as an anti-caking agent.

Etymology

From corn + starch.

This word in other languages

maicena(Español)maïzena(Français)Maisstärke(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cornstarch"?
"cornstarch" is spelled C-O-R-N-S-T-A-R-C-H.
What does "cornstarch" mean?
As a noun, "cornstarch" means: A very fine starch powder derived from corn (maize) used in cooking as a thickener, to keep things from sticking, or as an anti-caking agent.
What is the origin of the word "cornstarch"?
From corn + starch. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cornstarch", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

centerline#52,848capitulate#52,836elucidated#52,922endearment#52,927

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list