starch
/ˈstɑɹt͡ʃ/noun, verb, adjective
starch is spelled S-T-A-R-C-H: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, starch means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of starch is starches.
How many letters and syllables are in starch?
| Letters | 6: S-T-A-R-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,589th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is starch?
Starch appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce starch?
- UK /ˈstɑːt͡ʃ/
- UK [ˈstɑːt͡ʃ]
- US /ˈstɑɹt͡ʃ/
Starch has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-starch.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with starch?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as starch from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹtʃ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of starch
- starches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- starching participle, present
- starched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does starch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 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 maki
Meronym: saccharide
- 2
Carbohydrates, as with grain and potato based foods.
- 3
A stiff, formal manner; formality.
- 4
Fortitude.
- 5
Any of various starch-like substances used as a laundry stiffener.
verb
- 1
To apply or treat with laundry starch, in order to create a hard, smooth surface.
She starched her blouses.
adjective
- 1
Stiff; precise; rigid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Starch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | amidon , rigidité , apprêt, empois, cati , amidonner |
| German | Stärke , Steifheit , Wäschestärke, Wäschesteife , stärken |
| Portuguese | amido, fécula , goma , engomar , duro, preciso |
| Spanish | almidón, fécula , almidonar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does starch come from?
From Middle English starche, sterche, from Old English *stierċe (“stiffness, rigidity, strength”), from Proto-West Germanic *starkī (“stiffness, rigidity, fortitude, strength”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sterg- (“stiff, rigid”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).