Shiffrin left the WC with three medals, one gold and two silver, and is now back in the World Cup.
Today she was chasing new successes in the super-G in Norwegian Kvittfjell, but the American's effort was not enough for victory.
It wasn't even enough for the podium.
But there were small margins.
Shiffrin started strong, but then lost interval after interval.
She finished fourth, 16 hundredths behind winner Cornelia Hütter, Austria.
Elena Curtoni, Italy, finished second and Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami snagged third place.
Shiffrin has 85 World Cup victories, which is one fewer than Ingemar Stenmark who holds the record.