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

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 cycles of our obsession are shortening, after all.

From Salon • May 27, 2026

S&P Dow Jones Indices has also proposed shortening its wait for S&P 500 inclusion to six months from 12 months.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Proteases, enzymes that recycle proteins, can rapidly cut peptides into individual amino acids, shortening their effectiveness.

From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026

They’re made with shortening, which Mami always points out is a death sentence.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina