starch
n. C / Un. a white substance found in foods like bread, potatoes, and rice that gives you energy. It is also used in a spray form to make clothes feel stiff and smooth.
n. a complex carbohydrate found in various plant tissues, particularly seeds and tubers, which serves as a primary energy source in the human diet. Also refers to a preparation used in laundering to stiffen fabrics.
Potatoes and pasta are very high in starch.
The chef explained that rinsing the rice helps remove excess starch so the grains do not stick together.
While complex carbohydrates provide sustained energy, a diet excessively high in refined starch can lead to rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels.
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”). Cognate with dialectal Dutch sterk (“strong”), Middle Low German sterke (“strength”), German Stärke (“strength", also "starch”), Swedish stärkelse (“starch”), Icelandic sterkja (“starch”). Related to English stark (“stiff, strong, vigorous, powerful”).
Uncountable when referring to the substance in general; countable when referring to specific chemical varieties or types of laundry stiffener.