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shea butter

American  

noun

  • shea butters
    plural
  1. a solid, greenish, yellowish, or whitish fat derived from the seeds of the shea tree, used for food and in the manufacture of soaps and candles.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of shea butter

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

This loss, combined with the poor harvests, has had a direct impact on people like Mariam Chandiru, a local shea butter producer for many years in the northern town of Koboko.

From BBC May 1, 2025

Shinichirō Watanabe's vision marries futuristic visuals with realism, with the series' jazz score treated as something to be felt and then absorbed, like dry skin lathered in shea butter.

From Salon Apr. 5, 2025

The American Academy of Dermatology also recommends lip balms that contain ceramides, hemp seed oil, dimethicone, mineral oil and shea butter.

From Seattle Times Feb. 5, 2024

Video and photography by international artists filled the industrial space, together presenting a portrait of the region, considering the production of shea butter, Dagomba rituals and Tamale’s middle class, among other subjects.

From New York Times Feb. 5, 2024

Late the next morning, Jam was twisting her hair in her bedroom, smearing whipped shea butter on her palms and applying it in sections while soca music played over her speakers.

From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi

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