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Structure

Definition lists need the right children

• Rule: definition-list
• Severity: Serious
• WCAG level A

Why it matters

A <dl> whose children are not <dt>/<dd> pairs loses the term-to-definition relationship, so a screen reader reads a run of unlabelled text instead of a glossary.

How to fix it

1. Put only <dt>, <dd>, <div>, <script> and <template> directly inside the <dl>.
2. Group a term with its definitions inside a plain <div> when you need a styling hook.
3. Use a <ul> instead when the content is not really term-and-definition.

In markup

<dl>
  <div>Term</div>
  <p>Definition</p>
</dl>

<dl>
  <dt>Term</dt>
  <dd>Definition</dd>
</dl>

The requirement behind it

This rule is one way of failing the following WCAG 2.2 success criteria. The W3C, which writes the standard, explains each of them:

• 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (opens in new tab) — WCAG level A

Further reading

Deque University on definition-list (opens in new tab)

Deque maintains axe-core, the open-source engine our scanner runs. Their page documents the rule as the engine implements it.

Automated checks find failures a browser can prove. They cannot judge whether a caption is accurate, whether an alt text is useful, or whether a page can be operated end to end with a keyboard — those need a person.