SHORTENING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does shortening mean? 

• SHORTENING (noun)
  The noun SHORTENING has 2 senses:

1. fat such as butter or lard used in baked goods

2. act of decreasing in length

  Familiarity information: SHORTENING used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SHORTENING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fat such as butter or lard used in baked goods

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("shortening" is a kind of...):

edible fat (oily or greasy matter making up the bulk of fatty tissue in animals and in seeds and other plant tissue)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Act of decreasing in length

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

the dress needs shortening

Hypernyms ("shortening" is a kind of...):

decrease; diminution; reduction; step-down (the act of decreasing or reducing something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "shortening"):

abbreviation (shortening something by omitting parts of it)

cut; cutting; cutting off (the act of shortening something by chopping off the ends)

contraction; muscle contraction; muscular contraction ((physiology) a shortening or tensing of a part or organ (especially of a muscle or muscle fiber))

truncation (the act of cutting short)

Derivation:

shorten (make short or shorter)

 Context examples 

A formula which takes into account the physiologic shortening of the JT interval which occurs as the heart rate increases, permitting comparison of the JT interval across a range of rates.

(JTcB - Bazett's Correction Formula, NCI Thesaurus)

In the second and third steps, further oxidation makes more NADPH and releases carbon dioxide, shortening the sugar from six carbons to five (D-ribulose 5-phosphate).

(Oxidative Reactions of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Inhibition of telomerase activity in tumor cells by imetelstat results in telomere shortening, which leads to cell cycle arrest or apoptosis.

(Imetelstat, NCI Thesaurus)

You should try to avoid: • Saturated fats such as butter, solid shortening, and lard. • Trans fats.

(Dietary Fats, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Decrease in parenchymal cell number and/or size, often associated with shortening of villi (SI) and/or glands (LI)

(Mucosal Atrophy of the Mouse Intestinal Tract, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)

The process where thick (myosin) and thin (actin) filaments slide against each other to produce a shortening or tensing of the muscle cell or fiber.

(Muscle Contraction, NCI Thesaurus)

Look for trans fat on the labels of processed foods, margarines and shortenings.

(Nutrition for Seniors, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

Look for trans fat on the labels of processed foods, margarines, and shortenings.

(Nutrition, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

A shortening and thinning of cervix due to the action of uterine contractions during active labor to allow for fetal descent.

(Cervical Effacement, NCI Thesaurus)

The Ca2+ binding to troponinC thereby triggers the sliding of thin and thick filaments, that is, the activation of a crossbridge and subsequent cardiac force development and/or cell shortening.

(Cardiac Muscle Contraction Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)