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html element

`<dt>` HTML description term element

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The <dt> HTML element specifies a term in a description or definition list, and as such must be used inside a <dl> element. It is usually followed by a <dd> element; however, multiple <dt> elements in a row indicate several terms that are all defined by the immediate next <dd> element.

The subsequent <dd> (Description Details) element provides the definition or other related text associated with the term specified using <dt>.

Interactive exampleOpen the canonical MDN source to run this embedded demo.
<p>Please use the following paint colors for the new house:</p>

<dl>
  <dt>Denim (semigloss finish)</dt>
  <dd>Ceiling</dd>

  <dt>Denim (eggshell finish)</dt>
  <dt>Evening Sky (eggshell finish)</dt>
  <dd>Layered on the walls</dd>
</dl>

p,
dl {
  font:
    1rem "Fira Sans",
    sans-serif;
}

dl > dt {
  font-weight: normal;
  font-style: oblique;
}

dd {
  margin-bottom: 1rem;
}

Attributes

This element only includes the global attributes.

Examples

For examples, see the examples provided for the <dl> element.

Technical summary

Content categories None.
Permitted content Flow content, but with no [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/header/), [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/footer/), sectioning content or heading content descendants.
Tag omission The start tag is required. The end tag may be omitted if this element is immediately followed by another <dt> element or a [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/dd/) element, or if there is no more content in the parent element.
Permitted parents A [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/dl/) or (in [WHATWG](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/WHATWG) HTML, [W3C](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Glossary/W3C) HTML 5.2 and later) a [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/div/) that is a child of a [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/dl/).
This element can be used before a [`
`](/firefox/mdn/html/reference/elements/dd/) or another <dt> element.
Implicit ARIA role No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles listitem
DOM interface [`HTMLElement`](/firefox/mdn/api/htmlelement/) Up to Gecko 1.9.2 (Firefox 4) inclusive, Firefox implements the [`HTMLSpanElement`](/firefox/mdn/api/htmlspanelement/) interface for this element.

Specifications

SpecificationsStandards references are available on the canonical MDN page.

Browser compatibility

Browser compatibilityCompatibility data is available on the canonical MDN page.

See also