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Shortening   /ʃˈɔrtənɪŋ/  /ʃˈɔrtnɪŋ/   Listen
verb
Shorten  v. t.  (past & past part. shortened; pres. part. shortening)  
1.
To make short or shorter in measure, extent, or time; as, to shorten distance; to shorten a road; to shorten days of calamity.
2.
To reduce or diminish in amount, quantity, or extent; to lessen; to abridge; to curtail; to contract; as, to shorten work, an allowance of food, etc. "Here, where the subject is so fruitful, I am shortened by my chain."
3.
To make deficient (as to); to deprive; with of. "Spoiled of his nose, and shortened of his ears."
4.
To make short or friable, as pastry, with butter, lard, pot liquor, or the like.
To shorten a rope (Naut.), to take in the slack of it.
To shorten sail (Naut.), to reduce sail by taking it in.


Shorten  v. i.  To become short or shorter; as, the day shortens in northern latitudes from June to December; a metallic rod shortens by cold.


noun
Shortening  n.  
1.
The act of making or becoming short or shorter.
2.
(Cookery) That which renders pastry short or friable, as butter, lard, etc.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Shortening" Quotes from Famous Books



... acceleration of their movements; at any rate, I had never seen men work more smartly; and the nearest proa was still fully three-quarters of a mile distant when the last man reached the deck—which he did by way of the main-topmast backstay—and our task of shortening sail ...
— The Cruise of the "Esmeralda" • Harry Collingwood
... and serious misunderstanding. First of all, margarine is almost indigestible, chemically very much like shortening—an artificially saturated or hydrogenated vegetable fat. Hydrogenated fats can't be properly broken down by the body's digestive enzymes, adding to the body's toxic load. Margarine, being a chemically-treated ...
— How and When to Be Your Own Doctor • Dr. Isabelle A. Moser with Steve Solomon
... he was awakened by the tramp of men overhead, and knew that they were shortening the anchor chain, and preparing to be off. Going out on to the deck, he saw that the courses had been dropped, and the topsails were lying loose in their gaskets. The crew were singing merrily, as they worked the capstan. Three of the boats already hung from the davits, and two large ...
— A Final Reckoning - A Tale of Bush Life in Australia • G. A. Henty
... But in shortening the road would the author attain the desired end? would the self-imposed task be fulfilled? would his or her own convictions become those of others? Should not authors sacrifice themselves to their subject in all works inspired by a devoted spirit? Shall it be ...
— My Recollections of Lord Byron • Teresa Guiccioli
... this year, at a meeting of the electors of Southwark, 'instructions' had been presented to Mr. Thrale and his brother-member, of which the twelfth was:—'That you promote a bill for shortening the duration of Parliaments.' Gent. Mag. ...
— Life Of Johnson, Vol. 2 • Boswell


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