# lemon

Pronunciation: say "LEM-uhn" /ˈlɛmən/

## Noun

1. A yellow citrus fruit with sour, juicy flesh, or its juice used in food and drink.
   - Simple: A sour yellow fruit, or its juice used in food and drinks.
   - _A thin slice of lemon floated in the glass of iced tea._
   - _The recipe calls for the zest of two ripe lemons._
3. A defective or inadequate item or person, especially a car. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Something, often a car, that turns out bad or useless, or a person who is no good at something.
   - _Within a month the dealer admitted the truck was a lemon._
   - _Critics called the gadget an expensive lemon that never worked as promised._
4. A semitropical evergreen tree, Citrus limon, that produces lemons.
   - Simple: A small evergreen tree that grows sour, yellow citrus fruit.
   - _The lemon thrives in warm climates and needs protection from frost._
   - _Growers prune their lemons each season to encourage healthy fruit._
5. A fairly bright yellow, like that of a lemon's skin.
   - Simple: A bright yellow color, like the skin of lemons.
   - _The designer paired deep navy with a vivid lemon._
   - _On the paint chart, lemon sits between cream and gold._
7. A yellowish coastal shark of the species Negaprion brevirostris.
   - Simple: A yellow-brown shark found in warm, shallow seas.
   - _A large lemon cruised slowly through the mangrove shallows._
   - _Researchers tagged several lemons to track their movements along the coast._
10. A favor or good turn done for someone. *(dialectal, Cockney)*
   - Simple: A favor, or a kind thing you do to help someone.
   - _Do me a lemon and keep an eye on the van while I pop into the shop._
   - _Do me a lemon and watch the stall for ten minutes while I nip to the bank._

## Adjective

2. Flavored with lemon, or smelling of it.
   - Simple: Having the sour taste or fresh smell of lemons.
   - _The dessert ended on a bright lemon note that cut the richness._
   - _Many cleaning sprays carry a sharp lemon scent._
6. Pale yellow, like the skin of a ripe lemon.
   - Simple: Of a pale yellow color, like the skin of lemons.
   - _The bridesmaids chose lemon dresses for the summer wedding._
   - _Morning light gave the kitchen a warm lemon glow._
11. Smart and cheeky; given to speaking one's mind. *(dialectal, Cockney)*
   - Simple: Clever and cheeky, and not afraid to speak up.

## Verb

8. To give food or drink the flavor of lemon.
   - Simple: To add lemon taste to food or drink.
   - _The chef lemoned the sauce just before serving it._
   - _Salt, pepper, and lemon the fillets generously, then grill them over a hot fire._

## Noun

9. A piece of fan fiction containing explicit sexual content. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A fan-written story that includes explicit sexual content.
   - _He posted a lemon to the archive under a pseudonym._
   - _Older forums tagged their lemons so younger readers could skip them._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A surface formed by rotating a circular arc of less than 180° around the line joining its two endpoints.

## Origin

The word came into English through Middle English lymon, which was taken from Old French lymon ("citrus"). The French word came from Arabic laymūn or Persian limon, and further back from Persian limu and Sanskrit nimbū ("lime"). It and lime are likely doublets. The fandom sense comes from Cream Lemon, an erotic anime series.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lemon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).