A lemon is a round, yellow fruit. It tastes sour and is often used to add flavor to food or drinks.
I like lemon in my tea.
She bought fresh lemons from market.
When we say something is a lemon, it means it is bad or does not work correctly. People often say this about cars or machines.
This old car is a lemon.
The phone I bought is a lemon.
To lemon someone means to cheat or offer less money than something is worth. It is often used when talking about deals.
He tried to lemon me for the bike.
Don’t lemon her when paying money.
When something is called a lemon, it can mean it was bad or not as good as expected, like a failure or disappointment.
The party was a lemon this year.
That movie turned out to be a lemon.
In some places, calling someone a lemon means they did something silly or acted foolishly. It's a way to say someone is not smart.
Don’t be a lemon, think again.
He acted like a lemon yesterday.
To lemon can mean that a machine or vehicle suddenly stops working or breaks down. This usage is less common but understood in some areas.
The car lemoned on the road.
My bike lemoned in the rain.