hyphen

[ hahy-fuhn ]
See synonyms for hyphen on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a short line (-) used to connect the parts of a compound word or the parts of a word divided for any purpose.

verb (used with object)

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Origin of hyphen

1
1595–1605; <Late Latin <Greek hyphén (adv.) together, derivative of hyph' hén (prepositional phrase), equivalent to hyp(ó) under (see hypo-) + hén, neuter of heîs one

Other words from hyphen

  • hy·phen·ic [hahy-fen-ik], /haɪˈfɛn ɪk/, adjective
  • de·hy·phen, verb (used with object)
  • un·hy·phened, adjective

Words Nearby hyphen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hyphen in a sentence

  • If the capital-letter be retained where a prefix is put to a proper name, the hyphen is obviously necessary.

    "Stops" | Paul Allardyce
  • The hyphen distinguishes the etymological meaning of these words as distinguished from their derived and ordinary meaning.

    "Stops" | Paul Allardyce
  • When the combination is likely to be misunderstood, modern editors generally put a hyphen between the two words.

    Ephemera Critica | John Churton Collins
  • Taken out hyphen for 'woman-kind', majority are 'womankind'.

British Dictionary definitions for hyphen

hyphen

/ (ˈhaɪfən) /


noun
  1. the punctuation mark (-), used to separate the parts of some compound words, to link the words of a phrase, and between syllables of a word split between two consecutive lines of writing or printing

verb
  1. (tr) another word for hyphenate

Origin of hyphen

1
C17: from Late Latin (meaning: the combining of two words), from Greek huphen (adv) together, from hypo- + heis one

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for hyphen

hyphen

A punctuation mark (-) used in some compound words, such as self-motivation, seventy-five, and mother-in-law. A hyphen is also used to divide a word at the end of a line of type. Hyphens may appear only between syllables. Thus com-pound is properly hyphenated, but compo-und is not.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.