lemon

noun

ˈle-mən How to pronounce lemon (audio)
Definition of lemonnext
as in disaster
something that has failed the used car he bought turned out to be a lemon, and he soon had trouble starting the thing

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lemon At the bar, lime juice and lemon juice lacked date mark labels. — Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026 Strain off ice into a coupe and garnish with a cherry or lemon peel. — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 10 Oct. 2026 The candle smells of cereal, milk and lemon and is intended to recall the days of watching Saturday morning cartoons and summer. — Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 10 Oct. 2026 Toss thoroughly, drizzle with lemon vinaigrette, toss again, and taste. — Candy Hom, AJC.com, 10 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lemon
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lemon
  1. disaster
  2. failure
  3. bust
  4. loser
  5. disappointment
  6. frost
  7. bomb
  8. catastrophe
Noun
  • Faizi said ambulances and disaster management personnel arrived from a nearby facility within five minutes of being alerted.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
  • For example, largely because of the environmental disaster that is Weikuang Dam, the country doesn’t permit the development or operation of stand-alone monazite mines—that is, mines where nothing is mined except monazite ore.
    — Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of disaster
Noun
  • The question confronting Israel and its international partners is not simply whether money should flow into Gaza, but also who controls it—and whether the next arrangement will avoid the failures of the last.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Special-teams breakdowns — including a 70-yard kickoff return and two field-goal failures — played a big role in the Rams’ 37-34 overtime loss to Buffalo.
    — Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of failure
Noun
  • For Dan Greenhaus, strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management, CoreWeave isn’t a canary in the coal mine that signals the AI bust is imminent.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • In Marseille City Hall, a bust of Marianne, the national symbol of France, was knocked to the ground and an anarchist symbol was spray-painted on a wall, according to BFMTV.
    — Elina Baudier Kim, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of bust
Noun
  • The selling in recent days, however, has intensified on worries about the AI trade, making the likes of Micron among our biggest losers week-to-date and defensives such as Cardinal Health among our biggest weekly winners.
    — Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Progress in the competition awaits the winner, exit for the loser.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of loser
Noun
  • To rely on him on a day-to-day basis is to live under conditions of constant disappointment.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The trading disappointment comes after CEO Brian Moynihan told analysts last month that trading revenue would be roughly flat; instead the combined bond and stock trading results fell by 5%.
    — Hugh Son, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of disappointment
Noun
  • Yes, there is a spa area with a sauna, steam room, frost cabin, and a hot relaxation pool.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026
  • The weather service said there is a chance of patchy frost Friday night and Saturday morning.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of frost
Noun
  • The war continues Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Russia has launched more than 4,000 strike drones, bombs and missiles against his country over the past week.
    — Kristin Wright, NPR, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Fifty years after the last Weather Underground bomb exploded, former members and their children reassess the costs of the group’s violent struggle.
    — Adam Hochschild, The New York Review of Books, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of bomb
Noun
  • In a 2024 interview with TIME, Netanyahu denied making the statement, insisting that the payments were meant to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
    — Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Information and statistics are flying around, with some groups framing the AI data center boom as a potential environmental catastrophe, while others say concerns are overblown or even fake.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of catastrophe

Browse Nearby Words

leisurely
lemon
lemons
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lemon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lemon. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on lemon

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lemon

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All