HTML <dd> Definition Definition Tag Reference

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The dd HTML tag stands for "definition definition", used as part of HTML definition lists, together with definition terms (<dt>..</dt>).

The <dd> HTML/xHTML tag

The <dt> tag is part of the term/definition pair that comprises definition lists (<dl>..</dl>).

When to use the <dd> tag (semantic use)

A definition list may only contain definition terms ( <dt>..</dt>) tags and corresponding definitions (<dd>..</dd>) tags. See examples below. (OK - they can also contain a list header ( <lh>..</lh>) tag, but not many people know or use these.)

When the <dl> tag was created as part of the original HTML definition, HTML was focused on marking up academic papers, where definitions of terms are commonplace. Today, HTML is used for loads more stuff, and people have found the <dl> tag useful for more than definitions. A lot of web designers argue that it's OK to use definition lists for a range of name / value (and even name / value, value or name, name / value combos). A few will stick to the more narrow definition, but this is a bit silly.

<dd> is valid in all current versions of HTML and xHTML, and it should always have a closing </dd> tag.

Example of <dd> tag use

Usually you'll have terms & definitions in pairs, as below.

<dl>
    <dt>Do</dt>
    <dd>A deer, a female deer</dd>
    <dt>Re</dt>
    <dd>A drop of golden sun</dd>
    <dt>Mi</dt>
    <dd>A name I call myself</dd>
</dl>

Looks like...

Do: A deer, a female deer
Re: A drop of golden sun
Mi: A name I call myself

The specification seems to allow for more than one definition per term, or more than one term having the same definition, e.g.

<dl>
    <dt>Do</dt>
    <dd>A deer, a female deer</dd>
    <dd>Japanese for "way"</dd>
    <dt>Re</dt>
    <dd>A drop of golden sun</dd>
    <dt>Mi</dt>
    <dt>I</dt>
    <dd>A name I call myself</dd>
</dl>

Looks like...

Do: A deer, a female deer; Japanese for "way"
Re: A drop of golden sun
Mi
I: A name I call myself

Alternatives to the <dd> tag

You may also consider using:

Unordered lists: Use a <ul> tag where the order of items is not significant.
Ordered lists: Use an <ol> tag where the order of items is significant, e.g. listing events in time order, or race results.