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.

---

shortening British  

/ ˈʃɔːtənɪŋ /

noun

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

---

Etymology

Origin of shortening

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

Example Sentences

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

From Science Daily • Apr. 28, 2026

While shortening attention spans may be to blame for the shift in literature, Huehls argues that some writers are intentionally engaging with it.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2026

Fuel-importing countries are already shortening workweeks, cutting output, and hoarding commodities.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

It has already partnered with Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Genmab with the aim of shortening drug development life cycles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

He eased back ever so slightly on the reins and felt the horse’s stride come up under him, shortening.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand