HTML dl Tag

HTML dl: Main Tips

• The <dl> element represented an HTML definition list in HTML4.
• In HTML5, it was repurposed and renamed as the description list. This also made it more of a semantic element.
• Such lists work well for glossaries, metadata, FAQs, and similar type of lists.
• The HTML dl element supports all global attributes.

What is dl?

What does dl mean? Since HTML5, it stands for a description list. Such a list contains name-value pairs: terms and their definitions, questions and answers, etc. In these pairs, the <dt> elements represent the names, and the <dd> elements stand for the values.

<dl>
  <dt>Car</dt>
  <dd>A vehicle used for boring transportation.</dd>
  <dt>Hot air balloon</dt>
  <dd>A vehicle used for fun transportation.</dd>
</dl>

Tip: you can wrap your HTML dl elements in <div> tags for styling purposes or to apply global attributes.

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Name-Value Pairs for HTML dl

Before HTML5, the name of the dl element was deciphered as an HTML definition list. The update to a description list made the element's purpose clearer and also broader: the pair does not necessarily have to include any explanation, as long as there is a name-value pair in sight.

The rules for name-value pairs are flexible: there doesn't have to just be one of each. Check the example below to get the idea:

<h3>One name, one value:</h3>
<dl>
  <dt>BitDegree</dt>
  <dd>Gamified online education platform</dd>
</dl>

<h3>One name, multiple values:</h3>
<dl>
  <dt>BitDegree Learn</dt>
  <dd>Code theory</dd>
  <dd>Code examples</dd>
  <dd>Code editor</dd>
</dl>

<h3>Multiple names, one value:</h3>
<dl>
  <dt>BitDegree Learn</dt>
  <dt>BitDegree Courses</dt>
  <dt>BitDegree Gamified Experience</dt>
  <dd>Tools needed to become a great developer</dd>
</dl>

Warning: do not use HTML dl for dialogues! While this use was suggested in HTML4, it is now deprecated, as you are not describing the speaker in any way.

Browser support

Chrome

All

Edge

All

Firefox

1+

IE

All

Opera

All

Safari

All

Mobile browser support

Chrome

All

Firefox

4+

Opera

All

Safari

All