as in disasters
something that has failed
the used car he bought turned out to be a lemon, and he soon had trouble starting the thing
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Recent Examples of lemons
Some coffee drinkers swear by using lemons to get rid of the stains.
—
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Feb. 2026
Store ripe lemons in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.
—Hannah Harper, Health, 21 Feb. 2026
All citrus is susceptible to greening — including lemons.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
This fishy look leans more Mediterranean, with a mix of anchovies, lemons, and olives.
—Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 19 Feb. 2026
This time of year, one of the key klatchers, Michael Soriano, often comes bearing a bag of Meyer lemons, picked from his tree.
—Carolynn Carreño, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Save citrus peels from lemons, oranges, grapefruit, and limes in a bag in the freezer.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 10 Feb. 2026
The menu also includes the option of local fish of the day prepared a la meunière, with lemons, capers and potatoes.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
Items inside the fridge included groceries purchased on April 7, 2018, when Stanko went to Walmart to buy things like lemons, green beans and almonds for a dinner Gross planned to prepare for them that evening.
—Erika Stanish, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Feb. 2026
Store ripe lemons in the refrigerator for up to six weeks.
—Hannah Harper, Health, 21 Feb. 2026
All citrus is susceptible to greening — including lemons.
—Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
This fishy look leans more Mediterranean, with a mix of anchovies, lemons, and olives.
—Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 19 Feb. 2026
This time of year, one of the key klatchers, Michael Soriano, often comes bearing a bag of Meyer lemons, picked from his tree.
—Carolynn Carreño, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2026
Save citrus peels from lemons, oranges, grapefruit, and limes in a bag in the freezer.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 10 Feb. 2026
The menu also includes the option of local fish of the day prepared a la meunière, with lemons, capers and potatoes.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
Items inside the fridge included groceries purchased on April 7, 2018, when Stanko went to Walmart to buy things like lemons, green beans and almonds for a dinner Gross planned to prepare for them that evening.
—Erika Stanish, CBS News, 6 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lemons
Noun
-
Homeowners are left to mediate a system that was never designed for neighborhood-scale disasters.—
Michelle Edgar,
Daily News,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Both nights were disasters, in very different ways.—
Luis Palomares,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Mercury stationing retrograde can bring disappointments that are informative.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Losing a board game becomes a small, safe rehearsal for larger disappointments later in life.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Parents,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Increasingly, the aging building has been experiencing system failures that include the boilers and chillers, electrical infrastructure, plumbing and roof leaks, the City Council was told.—
Lori Weisberg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
-
These failures help contribute to the lack of confidence Americans in general have in Democrats’ ability to run things — their governmental competence.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The mixture of high-tech drones and World War I-style trench fighting has seen small groups of infantry — often just two or three soldiers — try to infiltrate enemy positions into towns flattened by Russian heavy artillery and glide bombs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Ruslan Tyshchenko was a sapper who defused bombs in Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine.—
Carol Guzy,
NPR,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
This is a twisted travelogue of sorts, each chapter devoted to a circle of hell populated by one group of sports gambling’s myriad losers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Ravu were the losers, with Jessica being the biggest loser of all.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Of those, 15 were busts to some degree.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
After the busts went, er, bust, a rental car company purchased Presidents Park and hired local builder Howard Hankins to help flatten it into a parking lot.—
Danielle Paquette The Washington Post,
Arkansas Online,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Kennedy has made no bones about his misplaced skepticism of mRNA vaccines, pinging off the proliferating conspiracies around the COVID vaccines — incredible innovations that saved countless lives during one of the worst global catastrophes in recent memory.—
The Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
21 Feb. 2026
-
While Scarry’s books present such catastrophes with bright colors and good humor, Gomez undermines this cheer by superimposing on the mural a nearly all-black painting of a desolate tent encampment in front of a home destroyed by the Eaton fire.—
Sharon Mizota,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Choose cold-tolerant plants to avoid issues with late-season frosts.—
Lauren Landers,
The Spruce,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Because the buds are not present during the winter months, these varieties are less susceptible to bud loss due to spring frosts.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Lemons.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lemons. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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