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

One of his new compositions, he said, came from a time he had remembered living on Bracken Road in Port Talbot and his mother had made him lemon curd sandwiches.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Sunday, it starts with a lemon, ends with puzzles and has a whole lot of family, phone calls and fusion food in between.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

She got something personal to her but declined to say what it was—except that it was neither a lemon nor a lime.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The rest accumulated slowly and, for the most part, logically: lemon zest for brightness, bacon for savory crunch, avocado for cool richness.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

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

A shelf says: I buy my tuna packed in olive oil, not water, and I know what to do with preserved lemons.

From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026

A bowl of lemons sits on a table in the conference room Mauricio Pochettino has turned into an office at the U.S. men’s soccer team’s beachfront resort in south Orange County.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 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

There are sponges there, and spray cleaner that smells like lemons.

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart