n. Solid fat, such as butter, lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil, used to make shortcrust pastry.
n. Verbal noun form of shorten.
v. Present participle of shorten.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. The act of making or becoming short or shorter.
n. That which renders pastry short or friable, as butter, lard, etc.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. In cookery, lard, butter, or other substance used to make pastry short or flaky.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. fat such as butter or lard used in baked goods
n. act of decreasing in length
Word Usage
"Since the early 19th century, the term shortening has been used to mean fats or oils that “shorten” a dough, or weaken its structure and thus make the final product more tender or flaky."