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

She'd squeeze lemon on her hair to make it blonder, and put on concerts of Whitney Houston covers for her neighbours.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

These simple, vegetarian, gluten-free treats are best served with a squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of flaky salt and a glass of mineral-driven white wine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

My stomach was in knots as I pictured myself clad in a lemon chiffon dress looking like a dollop of meringue, doing the Viennese waltz — something resembling a Centrum Silver commercial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Then Sara squeezes fresh lemon juice and water into the mixture and, as promised, it curdles.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Pereira has continued to champion corn, recently making a Brazilian lemonade - which uses limes instead of lemons - and pairing it with corn milk.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

He has one customer who picks lemons from his family’s tree to trade for other produce.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026

This is where I often find my weekly anchors: onions, lemons, sweet potatoes, greens.

From Salon ● May 22, 2026

I had no way to explain how I could smell freshly sliced lemons and see citrus-toned musical notes in my mind as it played.

From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper