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.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shea butters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shea butter

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shea butter

"Your shea butter that a lot of people use - either raw or in cosmetic products around the world - is because of bats, which disperse the seeds of the tree," she said.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026

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 nonsticky, vegan lip treatments are meant to heal lips via shea butter, jojoba oil and lysine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024

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

She’s wearing a silk bonnet like me, and it smells like the shea butter cream Mom puts in her hair before she twists it.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks