From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishshorteningshort‧en‧ing /ˈʃɔːtnɪŋ $ ˈʃɔːrt-/ noun [uncountable] DFCfat made from vegetable oil that you mix with flour when making pastry(1)
Examples from the Corpus
shortening• After 4 months, cardiac function was reassessed: fractional shortening and ejection fraction was 33% and 47%, respectively.• A further characteristic to aid a correct diagnosis is a marked shortening of the bloom stalks.• Lastly, we might note the apparent similarity of this exercise to the traditional exercise of precis, the shortening of texts.• When the shortening is melted, turn off the heat and immediately add the chocolate. 