HTML Description Lists

An HTML description list is used to display term and definition pairs — similar to a dictionary or glossary. It is the third type of list in HTML alongside unordered and ordered lists.

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Description List Tags

A description list uses three tags together:

Tag	Name	Purpose
<dl>	Description List	The container for the whole list
<dt>	Description Term	The term or name being defined
<dd>	Description Data	The definition or description of the term

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Basic Description List

<dl>
    <dt>HTML</dt>
    <dd>HyperText Markup Language — the standard language for creating web pages.</dd>

    <dt>CSS</dt>
    <dd>Cascading Style Sheets — used to style and layout web pages.</dd>

    <dt>JavaScript</dt>
    <dd>A programming language that adds interactivity to web pages.</dd>
</dl>

Result:

HTML

HyperText Markup Language — the standard language for creating web pages.

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets — used to style and layout web pages.

JavaScript

A programming language that adds interactivity to web pages.

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Multiple Descriptions for One Term

A single <dt> can have multiple <dd> elements for multiple definitions:

<dl>
    <dt>Apple</dt>
    <dd>A fruit that grows on trees.</dd>
    <dd>A technology company known for iPhones and Macs.</dd>
</dl>

Result:

Apple

A fruit that grows on trees.

A technology company known for iPhones and Macs.

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Multiple Terms for One Description

Multiple <dt> elements can share a single <dd>:

<dl>
    <dt>HTML</dt>
    <dt>Hypertext Markup Language</dt>
    <dd>The standard language for structuring web content.</dd>
</dl>

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Common Use Cases

• Glossaries — defining technical terms
• FAQs — question as <dt>, answer as <dd>
• Metadata — key-value pairs like product specifications
• Dictionaries — word and its meaning

FAQ Example

<dl>
    <dt>What is HTML?</dt>
    <dd>HTML is the standard markup language for creating web pages.</dd>

    <dt>Is HTML a programming language?</dt>
    <dd>No. HTML is a markup language, not a programming language.</dd>
</dl>