Citing the W3C spec:
The dl element represents an association list consisting of zero or more name-value groups (a description list). Each group must consist of one or more names (dt elements) followed by one or more values (dd elements). Within a single dl element, there should not be more than one dt element for each name.
So the main reason for the <dl>, <dt> and <dd> tags are to preserve the semantic connection for those name-value pairs, which would get lost, if you just used nested lists.
If you use nested lists, this could be done for various reasons (currently, e.g., many menus are structured into nested lists) and crawlers or any other system, that respects semantic annotations, would not be able to tell the difference.
If you use the above tags, however, a system can see the connection and act accordingly. So a future use maybe to extract all definitions of terms inside a larger document to create some kind of glossary.
Answer from Sirko on Stack OverflowW3Schools
w3schools.com โบ tags โบ tag_dl.asp
HTML dl tag
The <dl> tag is used in conjunction with <dt> (defines terms/names) and <dd> (describes each term/name).
MDN Web Docs
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<dl>: The Description List element - HTML | MDN
The <dl> HTML element represents a description list. The element encloses a list of groups of terms (specified using the <dt> element) and descriptions (provided by <dd> elements). Common uses for this element are to implement a glossary or to display metadata (a list of key-value pairs).
Videos
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dl dt and dd tags in HTML - YouTube
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HTML Definition List | HTML dl Tag | #html #shorts 19 ๐ - YouTube
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How to use Description List Tag in Html - dl tag in html { HTML5 ...
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HTML Description List Example with Line-by-line Explained Coding ...
14. Description Lists in HTML. Understand about dl, dt, dd elements ...
Can I nest other HTML tags within the HTML tag?
Yes, you can nest other HTML tags within the HTMLtag, but it is essential to use them correctly. Typically, you would nest(definition term) and(description detail) tags within it, which represent the terms and their definitions, respectively.
lenovo.com
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HTML dl Tag Explained: Create Organized Description Lists | Lenovo CA
What is HTMLtag?
The HTMLtag is used to define a description list, which is often employed to create a list of items and their corresponding descriptions. This tag is specifically useful when you want to present a collection of terms and their associated definitions, making it a valuable tool in structuring content more effectively.
lenovo.com
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HTML dl Tag Explained: Create Organized Description Lists | Lenovo CA
Can I use JavaScript with the HTMLtag?
You can certainly use JavaScript with the HTMLtag. JavaScript can dynamically manipulate the,, andelements, allowing for interactive functionalities like expanding and collapsing descriptions, sorting terms, and even fetching data to populate the list.
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HTML dl Tag Explained: Create Organized Description Lists | Lenovo CA
GeeksforGeeks
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HTML dl Tag - GeeksforGeeks
July 11, 2025 - <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <style> dl { background: #fff; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 5px; padding: 15px; box-shadow: 0 2px 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); } dt { font-weight: bold; color: #2c3e50; margin-top: 10px; } dd { margin-left: 20px; color: #34495e; margin-bottom: 10px; } </style> </head> <body> <h1>Fruits</h1> <dl> <dt>Apple</dt> <dd> A sweet, edible fruit produced by an apple tree. </dd> <dt>Banana</dt> <dd> A long, curved fruit that grows in clusters and has soft, pulpy flesh and yellow skin when ripe. </dd> <dt>Cherry</dt> <dd>A small, round fruit that is typically red or black and has a pit in the center. </dd> </dl> </body> </html>
Lenovo
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HTML dl Tag Explained: Create Organized Description Lists | Lenovo CA
Because it separates content into easily identifiable segments, it works well with media queries and other responsive design principles, ensuring that your list displays correctly on various devices. The HTML <dl>tag is used for description lists, <ul>creates unordered lists, and <ol generates ...
W3docs
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HTML dl Tag - Learn HTML | W3Docs
The <dl> tag defines a list of definitions/descriptions (learn more about HTML lists). It is used with the <dd> and <dt> tags. The <dl> tag creates a list, the <dt> tag specifies the term, and the <dd> tag specifies the description of the term.
Scaler
scaler.com โบ topics โบ dl-tag-in-html
<dl> Tag in HTML - Scaler Topics
August 2, 2022 - The "dl" HTML element creates description lists, pairing "dl" for terms and "dl" for definitions. Commonly applied in glossaries or metadata, these tagsโ"dl","dl", and "dl"โorganize content in a structured format, mimicking a dictionary ...
Tutorialspoint
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HTML - <dl> Tag
In the example below, we create a description list using the <dl> tag, which contains a term (<dt>) and a description (<dd>) โ ยท <!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>HTML dl Tag</title> </head> <body> <!--create a description list--> <dl> <dt>HTML</dt> <dd> HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language.
Top answer 1 of 3
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Citing the W3C spec:
The dl element represents an association list consisting of zero or more name-value groups (a description list). Each group must consist of one or more names (dt elements) followed by one or more values (dd elements). Within a single dl element, there should not be more than one dt element for each name.
So the main reason for the <dl>, <dt> and <dd> tags are to preserve the semantic connection for those name-value pairs, which would get lost, if you just used nested lists.
If you use nested lists, this could be done for various reasons (currently, e.g., many menus are structured into nested lists) and crawlers or any other system, that respects semantic annotations, would not be able to tell the difference.
If you use the above tags, however, a system can see the connection and act accordingly. So a future use maybe to extract all definitions of terms inside a larger document to create some kind of glossary.
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DL
A definition list is the container element for DT and DD elements. The DL element should be used when you want incorporate a definition of a term in your document, it is often used in glossaries to define many terms, it is also used in โnormalโ documents when the author wishes to explain a term in a more detail (Like this definition).
DT The term currently being defined in the definition list. This element contains inline data.
DD The definition description element contains data that describes a definition term. This data may be either inline, or it may be block level.
DT The term currently being defined in the definition list. This element contains inline data.
DD The definition description element contains data that describes a definition term. This data may be either inline, or it may be block level.
Tutorial Republic
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HTML dl Tag - Tutorial Republic
The term is given by the <dt> element and can only contains inline-level elements. The description is given with a <dd> element that can contains block-level elements. The following table summarizes the usages context and the version history of this tag. ... HTML / XHTML: <dl> ...
TechOnTheNet
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HTML: tag
The HTML <dl> tag is used to define a description list in the HTML document. A description list is a list of grouped terms (found within the <dt> tag) and a corresponding description (found within the <dd> tag).
HTML.com
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<dl> HTML Tag ยป
July 3, 2017 - The description list allows you to create a list of terms and then provide one or more descriptions for each term. In HTML 4, the <dl> tag defined a โdefinition list.โ But in HTML5, this has been changed to โdescription list.โ This change ...
W3Resource
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HTML definition list - dl, dt, dd tag and elements - HTML tutorials - w3resource
HTML dl, dt and dd elements are part of HTML Lists. Yes for dl element and start tag required but end tag optional for dt and dd elements.
Quackit
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HTML Tag
The HTML <dl> tag represents a description list in an HTML document.
Holistic SEO
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HTML <dl> Tag Definition, Usage and Examples - Holistic SEO
December 15, 2022 - The element encloses a list of groups of terms specified using the <dt> element and descriptions provided by <dd> elements. Common uses for this element are to implement a glossary or to display metadata which is the list of key-value pairs. The web developer should define a list of descriptions before using the <dl> HTML tag. The <dl> HTML Tag should not be used to indent a page.
Oregoom
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โท The DL tag in HTML โ ใ How to use in HTML5 ใ
October 20, 2024 - <dl> <dt>Term 1</dt> <dd>Definition 1</dd> <dt>Term 2</dt> <dd>Definition 2</dd> <dt>Term 3</dt> <dd>Definition 3</dd> </dl> Code language: HTML, XML (xml) Here, <dt> represents a term in the definition list, and <dd> represents the corresponding definition. You can add as many terms and definitions as you want in the list. Additionally, you can nest other HTML elements within the <dt> and <dd> tags.
DotFactory
dofactory.com โบ html โบ dl
HTML dl Tag
The <dl> tag is used to define a description list, similar to a dictionary with item/description pairs. The items below are the tags used to create an HTML description list.
The Webmaster
thewebmaster.com โบ html โบ tags โบ dl
HTML dl Tag
The <dl> tag is used to define a description list. This element encloses a group of description terms (<dt>) along with their definition description (<dd>). <dl> <dt>HTML</dt> <dd>HTML is short for Hypertext Markup Language and is the standard markup language used when creating web pages.</dd> ...
Educative
educative.io โบ answers โบ what-is-the-dl-element-in-html
What is the <dl> element in HTML?
The <dl> tag stands for description list.
W3C
w3c.github.io โบ html-reference โบ dl.html
dl โ description list - HTML5
The dl element represents a description list.
Quackit
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HTML 5 Tag
The HTML <dl> tag is used for declaring a definition list. A definition list is similar to other lists but in a definition list, each list item contains two or more entries; a term (dt) and a description (dd).