`<dt>` HTML description term element

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>.

Try it

<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 `<header>`, `<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 `<dd>` element, or if there is no more content in the parent element.
Permitted parents	A `<dl>` or (in WHATWG HTML, W3C HTML 5.2 and later) a `<div>` that is a child of a `<dl>`. This element can be used before a `<dd>` or another `<dt>` element.
Implicit ARIA role	No corresponding role
Permitted ARIA roles	`listitem`
DOM interface	`HTMLElement` Up to Gecko 1.9.2 (Firefox 4) inclusive, Firefox implements the `HTMLSpanElement` interface for this element.

Specifications

HTML

<dt> HTML description term element