1. a substance or ingredient used to make pastry or baked goods tender and flaky
Usage: cooking
2. something that makes something else shorter in length, duration, or extent

Examples

• Vegetable shortener is commonly used in pie crusts.
• Butter works well as a natural shortener for cookies.
• The recipe calls for two cups of flour and half a cup of shortener.
• Many bakers prefer lard as their shortener of choice.
• This URL shortener makes long web addresses more manageable.
• The editor acted as a shortener, cutting the article by half.