dlitem

Description

<dt> (definition term) and <dd> (definition description) elements must be direct children of a <dl> (definition list) element, or of a <div> that is itself a direct child of a <dl>. Placing these elements outside a <dl> breaks their semantic meaning and makes it impossible for screen readers to identify them as part of a definition list.

Example

In the following example, the <dt> and <dd> elements are used without a wrapping <dl> element. Screen readers cannot associate these elements with a definition list context, breaking the dlitem rule.

In contrast, the following code snippet correctly wraps all <dt> and <dd> elements inside a <dl> element. Screen readers can announce the term-and-description relationships, and the code does not break the dlitem rule.

How to fix?

Check if your site uses <dt> or <dd> elements outside of a <dl> element. If so, use one of the following methods to fix the issue:

• Wrap all <dt> and <dd> elements in a <dl> element. This is the recommended solution.
• If the elements are used purely for visual styling rather than for definition list semantics, replace them with semantically appropriate elements such as <strong> and <p>.

Reference

• WCAG 1.3.1: Info and Relationships
• HTML: The dt element