shortening
the process by which something is made shorter; a reduction in length.
Other meanings
Fat that is solid at room temperature, especially hydrogenated vegetable oil (known as vegetable shortening), used to make shortcrust pastry and in deep fat frying.
Related words
- vegetable shortening
- shortening time
- stretch shortening cycle
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “shortening” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.