to stiffen (clothes or fabric) with starch

NAmer, informal said of a boxer: to defeat (one's opponent) by a knockout

an odourless tasteless complex carbohydrate that is the chief storage form of carbohydrate in plants, is an important foodstuff, being obtained chiefly from cereals and potatoes, and is also used in pharmacy and medicine

a material prepared from this, used in adhesives and sizes, and in the form of a powder or spray to stiffen fabric

dated formality, stiffness, or pomposity