shortbread

American  

[shawrt-bred] / ˈʃɔrtˌbrɛd /

noun

1. a butter cookie commonly made in thick, pie-shaped wheels or rolled and cut in fancy shapes.

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shortbread British  

/ ˈʃɔːtˌbrɛd /

noun

1. a rich crumbly biscuit made from dough with a large proportion of butter

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Etymology

Origin of shortbread

First recorded in 1795–1805; short + bread

Explanation

Shortbread is a delicious sweet, crumbly Scottish cookie. If you want to bake your own shortbread, you'll need a lot of butter! Shortbread recipes vary, but most of them include a magical combination of flour, sugar, and butter. This traditional Scottish biscuit's high fat content gives it a crumbly texture caused by very short strands of gluten — and the short part of its name. Shortbread is associated with Christmas and the New Year in Scotland, where it also goes by the nickname shortie.

Example Sentences

Plus, there were shortbread cookies and chocolate cookies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

As ever, best known for its jam, sells products including rosé wine, teas, shortbread cookies and flower sprinkles.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2026

Sitting on the deck, I put my nose to the glass and breathed in aromas of light peat, ripe plums, shortbread and, floating in on the breeze, sea air.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Just be rich and glamorous, Meghan; people will keep buying your shortbread mix.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2025

Tucker finished the last few crumbs of a cookie he was eating—a Lorna Doone shortbread he had found earlier in the evening—and licked off his whiskers.

From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden