shortening

American  

[shawrt-ning, shawr-tn-ing] / ˈʃɔrt nɪŋ, ˈʃɔr tn ɪŋ /

noun

1. butter, lard, or other fat, used to make pastry, bread, etc., short.

2. Phonetics. the act, process, or an instance of making or becoming short.

3. Linguistics.

   1. the act or process of dropping one or more syllables from a word or phrase to form a shorter word with the same meaning, as in forming piano from pianoforte or phone from telephone.

   2. clipped form.

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shortening British  

/ ˈʃɔːtənɪŋ /

noun

1. butter, lard, or other fat, used in a dough, cake mixture, etc, to make the mixture short

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Etymology

Origin of shortening

First recorded in 1535–45; shorten + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Younger eggs, she said, would likely have improved her IVF odds, potentially shortening the years it took to have her children, and reducing costs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

Friday’s stock-market action might have made for a shortening of memories.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026

The company is focusing on managing direct costs and shortening the time it takes to build, CEO Robert McGibney said on a call with investors.

From Barron's • Jun. 1, 2026

Before the CAZ was introduced, the council said air pollution was responsible for shortening the lives of about 900 people per year.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

The days were shortening into winter, and dusk came soon.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin