Meanings
nounshortening (countable and uncountable, plural shortenings)
plural shortenings
- UScountableuncountablecookingFat that is solid at room temperature, especially hydrogenated vegetable oil (known as vegetable shortening), used to make shortcrust pastry and in deep fat frying.
Put on the skillet, slip on the lid / Mammy's going to make us some shortening bread / And that ain't all our mammy's going to do / She's going to cook us some coffee, too
1979, The Beach Boys, “Shortnin' Bread”, in Adult Child - countablenoun from verbuncountableverbal noun of shorten: the process by which something is made shorter; a reduction in length.
Antonyms: extension, lengthening
verb
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of shorten
Synonyms & antonyms
nounverbal noun of shorten: the process by which something is made shorter; a reduction in length.
Opposite
Also see
Translations
Bulgarian скъсяване, съкращаване
- скъсяване (skăsjavane)reduction in length
- съкращаване (săkraštavane)reduction in length
Catalan escurçada, escurçament
- escurçadareduction in length
- escurçamentreduction in length
Esperanto vegetaĵa graso, vegetalino
- vegetaĵa grasosolid fat
- vegetalinosolid fat
Finnish leivontarasva, lyheneminen
- leivontarasvasolid fat
- lyheneminenreduction in length
- lyhentäminenreduction in length
French graisse alimentaire, raccourcissement
- graisse alimentairesolid fat
- raccourcissementreduction in length
- raccourcissementsreduction in length
German Pflanzenfett, Backfett
- Pflanzenfettsolid fat
- Backfettsolid fat
- Verkürzungreduction in length
- Schrumpfungreduction in length
- Verkürzenreduction in length
- Schrumpfenreduction in length
- Stauchungreduction in length
- Stauchenreduction in length
- Kürzungreduction in length
- Kürzenreduction in length
Greek βράχυνση, σύμπτυξη
- βράχυνση (vráchynsi)reduction in length
- σύμπτυξη (sýmptyxi)reduction in length
- κόντεμα (kóntema)reduction in length
Hungarian margarin, főzőmargarin
- margarinsolid fat
- főzőmargarinsolid fat
- növényi zsír/zsiradéksolid fat
- rövidítésreduction in length
- rövidülésreduction in length
Indonesian lemak reroti, mentega putih
- lemak rerotisolid fat
- mentega putihsolid fat
- pemendekanreduction in length
Italian accorciatura
- accorciaturareduction in length
Japanese 短縮
- 短縮 (tanshuku)reduction in length
Norwegian Bokmål forkortning, abbreviasjon
- forkortningreduction in length
- abbreviasjonreduction in length
Portuguese encurtamento
- encurtamentoreduction in length
Russian сокраще́ние
- сокраще́ние (sokraščénije)reduction in length
Spanish acortamiento
- acortamientoreduction in length
Swedish but see fast matfett, förkortning
- but see fast matfettsolid fat
- förkortningreduction in length
Yiddish באַקפֿעטס, געשמילץ
- באַקפֿעטס (bakfets)solid fat
- געשמילץ (geshmilts)solid fat
Cite this entry
APA
shortening. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortening
MLA
“shortening.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortening. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shortening,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shortening.
Source: shortening on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.