hyphen
Americannoun
-
hyphens
plural
verb (used with object)
-
hyphens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hyphened,
past participle, past
-
hyphening
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hyphensimple
-
hyphenssimple
-
have hyphenedperfect
-
has hyphenedperfect
-
am hypheningprogressive
-
are hypheningprogressive
-
is hypheningprogressive
-
have been hypheningperfect progressive
-
has been hypheningperfect progressive
Past
-
hyphenedsimple
-
had hyphenedperfect
-
was hypheningprogressive
-
were hypheningprogressive
-
had been hypheningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hyphen
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
Compare meaning
How does hyphen compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
When you're writing, a hyphen is useful for forming a compound word or separating the syllables of a word at the end of a line of text. The word merry-go-round uses two hyphens. Often, when you join shorter individual words into one more complicated, compound word, you use a hyphen. Words like twentieth-century, well-intentioned, and high-risk are examples of hyphenated compounds. Hyphen is a Greek word that means "mark joining two syllables or words," which most likely was originally used to describe the way words should be sung.
Vocabulary lists containing hyphen
Punctuation Matters
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TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Language and Grammar - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The New York Times analysis relies heavily on textual analysis of old emails and posts, and in particular incorrect hyphen usage and British spelling.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 8, 2026
The lives of this family and millions of others are balanced on that flimsy hyphen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
So what if some Gen Z influencers see a venti hyphen where you see a proud, versatile dash?
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2025
Or perhaps the story of his panic at seeing a post-it note saying "please re-sign" on some documents, and not noticing the hyphen, wondered what he'd done to justify having to quit.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2023
So he knew that you couldn’t hear a hyphen!
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Missing hyphens or incorrect capitalization, ambiguities about singular and plural nouns or transitive and intransitive verbs — no question is too insignificant.
From Seattle Times ● May 29, 2023
Missing hyphens or incorrect capitalization, ambiguities about singular and plural nouns or transitive and intransitive verbs - no question is too insignificant.
From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023
Diggs spoke with The Times about the season finale of “Snowpiercer,” acting and hyphens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2022
We can blame scholar Richard Paul Jodrell for this gaffe, who, in his book The Philology of the English Language, left out hyphens in compound words.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2021
Many hyphens show up where they’re not wanted.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
These slight differences are by no means accidental, because Alms-basket is hyphened to count as two words and thereby cause the long word to be the 151st word.
From Bacon is Shake-Speare by Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence
Knew him before he married Miss Forbes of Glenluce, my wife's second cousin, and hyphened his name with hers, to keep the property in the family.
From An African Millionaire Episodes in the Life of the Illustrious Colonel Clay by Grant Allen
Golden-nob is 'a variety of apple'; see E.D.D.: and as a special name, which the passage implies, it should be hyphened.
From Society for Pure English, Tract 05 The Englishing of French Words; the Dialectal Words in Blunden's Poems by Society for Pure English
Mr. Tempest, unimpressed by the hyphened St. Clair, was unwilling to allow the courtship to proceed.
From The Simpkins Plot by George A. Birmingham
To meet the supposed legal exigencies the two names were simply hyphened.
From Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature by Charles W. Bardsley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
