title:      Definition Lists Extension
prev_title: Attribute Lists Extension
prev_url:   attr_list.html
next_title: Fenced Code Blocks Extension
next_url:   fenced_code_blocks.html

Definition Lists
================

Summary
-------

The Definition Lists extension adds the ability to create definition lists in
Markdown documents.

This extension is included in the standard Markdown library.

Syntax
------

Definition lists are defined using the syntax established in 
[PHP Markdown Extra][php].

[php]: http://www.michelf.com/projects/php-markdown/extra/#def-list

Thus, the following text (taken from the above referenced PHP documentation):

    Apple
    :   Pomaceous fruit of plants of the genus Malus in 
        the family Rosaceae.

    Orange
    :   The fruit of an evergreen tree of the genus Citrus.

will be rendered as:

    <dl>
    <dt>Apple</dt>
    <dd>Pomaceous fruit of plants of the genus Malus in 
    the family Rosaceae.</dd>

    <dt>Orange</dt>
    <dd>The fruit of an evergreen tree of the genus Citrus.</dd>
    </dl>


Usage
-----

See [Extensions](index.html) for general extension usage, specify `markdown.extensions.def_list`
as the name of the extension.

This extension does not accept any special configuration options.
