lemon

American  

[lem-uhn] / ˈlɛm ən /

noun

lemons plural

1. the yellowish, acid fruit of a subtropical citrus tree, Citrus limon.

2. the tree itself.

3. lemon yellow.

4. Informal. a person or thing that proves to be defective, imperfect, or unsatisfactory; dud.

   His car turned out to be a lemon.

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adjective

1. made of or with lemon.

2. having the color, taste, or odor of lemon.

lemon British  

/ ˈlɛmən /

noun

1. a small Asian evergreen tree, Citrus limon, widely cultivated in warm and tropical regions, having pale green glossy leaves and edible fruits

2. 1. the yellow oval fruit of this tree, having juicy acidic flesh rich in vitamin C

   2. ( as modifier )

      a lemon jelly

3. Also called: lemon yellow. 

   1. a greenish-yellow or strong yellow colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      lemon wallpaper

4. a distinctive tart flavour made from or in imitation of the lemon

5. slang a person or thing considered to be useless or defective

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lemon-like
  adjective
• lemonish
  adjective
• lemonlike
  adjective
• lemony
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lemons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lemon

1350–1400; 1905–10 lemon for def. 4; < Medieval Latin lemōnium; replacing Middle English lymon < Medieval Latin līmō, (stem līmōn- ) < Persian līmū, līmun

Explanation

A lemon is a sour yellow fruit. Squeeze one to make lemonade or add flavor to hot tea. Lemon is also what people call something that doesn’t work well, like a bum car. You can use the word lemon for the evergreen tree whose blossoms become bright yellow fruit, or for the fruit itself — or even the color of the fruit. Lemons are originally from Asia, but they also grow well in the Mediterranean, Florida, and California. They like sunny places. Informally, you can also use lemon to mean "an unsatisfactory or poorly made example of something," so you could say, "Most Volvos are great, but this car is a lemon."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lemon lemons

I added enough hot sauce to drown out the lemon.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

For a hint of brightness, throw in lemon juice or dried citrus peel.

From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026

In parts of southern Meta and Guaviare, coca fields were replaced by lemon trees, banana crops and small livestock farms.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

“It’s not like we’re trying to sell you a lemon here,” said Daniel Mendelsohn, a Bard humanities professor who has published his own translation of the poem.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

“And a lemon is not a berry, Mr. Lemoncello,” Marjory muttered.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Farmers arrived at dawn with tomatoes, gourds, chillies, lemons and melons.

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

I need my organic eggs, my strawberries, my lemons, my lemongrass, my hummus and my ghee.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

Based on his own experience buying a used car, columnist Christopher Mims explains how to hunt for deals, check a vehicle’s battery health and avoid the lemons.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

At minimum, this might be a bowl of lemons, a pile of fresh herbs, flaky salt and a bottle of good olive oil.

From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026

They were met at the entrance by a young librarian with blue hair and a dress covered in lemons.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova