LEMON

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lemon mean? 

• LEMON (noun)
  The noun LEMON has 5 senses:

1. yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh

2. a strong yellow color

3. a small evergreen tree that originated in Asia but is widely cultivated for its fruit

4. a distinctive tart flavor characteristic of lemons

5. an artifact (especially an automobile) that is defective or unsatisfactory

  Familiarity information: LEMON used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LEMON (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh

Classified under:

Nouns denoting foods and drinks

Hypernyms ("lemon" is a kind of...):

citrous fruit; citrus; citrus fruit (any of numerous fruits of the genus Citrus having thick rind and juicy pulp; grown in warm regions)

Meronyms (parts of "lemon"):

lemon peel; lemon rind (the rind of a lemon)

Holonyms ("lemon" is a part of...):

Citrus limon; lemon; lemon tree (a small evergreen tree that originated in Asia but is widely cultivated for its fruit)

Derivation:

lemony (tasting sour like a lemon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A strong yellow color

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

gamboge; lemon; lemon yellow; maize

Hypernyms ("lemon" is a kind of...):

yellow; yellowness (yellow color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of sunflowers or ripe lemons)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A small evergreen tree that originated in Asia but is widely cultivated for its fruit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Citrus limon; lemon; lemon tree

Hypernyms ("lemon" is a kind of...):

citrus; citrus tree (any of numerous tropical usually thorny evergreen trees of the genus Citrus having leathery evergreen leaves and widely cultivated for their juicy edible fruits having leathery aromatic rinds)

Meronyms (parts of "lemon"):

lemon (yellow oval fruit with juicy acidic flesh)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lemon"):

Citrus limetta; sweet lemon; sweet lime (lemon tree having fruit with a somewhat insipid sweetish pulp)

Holonyms ("lemon" is a member of...):

genus Citrus (orange; lemon; lime; etc.)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A distinctive tart flavor characteristic of lemons

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("lemon" is a kind of...):

flavor; flavour; nip; relish; sapidity; savor; savour; smack; tang (the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth)

Derivation:

lemony (tasting sour like a lemon)

Sense 5

Meaning:

An artifact (especially an automobile) that is defective or unsatisfactory

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

lemon; stinker

Hypernyms ("lemon" is a kind of...):

artefact; artifact (a man-made object taken as a whole)

Domain usage:

colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)

 Context examples 

The coat comes in white with blue, lemon, orange, or brown speckling.

(English Setter, NCI Thesaurus)

The other form of lemon myrtle oil is used in the production of citronella.

(Backhousia citriodora Leaf Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

You might also lose the product or the most obvious—discover it was a lemon.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Such nondisclosure can cause difficulties in identifying flavor-related adverse events, e.g. allergic reactions from common allergens such as menthol, lemon oil, or peppermint oil.

(Flavor Excipient, NCI Thesaurus)

A muscular hunting hound with a short, hard coat, usually lemon and white, red and white, or white and tan.

(Harrier, NCI Thesaurus)

The colors are white, black and lemon.

(Low Chen, NCI Thesaurus)

A characteristic of a medicinal product, specifying that its most predominant agreeable savor detected by the unified sensation of taste and olfactory receptors resembles lemon.

(Lemon Flavor, NCI Thesaurus)

"I'll send one of the youngsters for lemons, and we'll make a toddy," Martin offered.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Coat color is predominantly white, with either lemon or orange markings.

(Clumber Spaniel, NCI Thesaurus)

To divert his thoughts from this melancholy subject, I informed Mr. Micawber that I relied upon him for a bowl of punch, and led him to the lemons.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)