hyphenate

[verb hahy-fuh-neyt; adjective, noun hahy-fuh-nit, -neyt]

verb (used with object), hy·phen·at·ed, hy·phen·at·ing.

to join by a hyphen.

to write or divide with a hyphen.

adjective

of or relating to something of distinct form or origin that has been joined; connected by a hyphen.

noun

Informal. a person working or excelling in more than one craft or occupation: He's a film-industry hyphenate, usually listed as a writer-director-producer.

Origin of hyphenate

First recorded in 1850–55; hyphen + -ate¹

Related formshy·phen·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hyphenate

Historical Examples of hyphenate

Hyphenate the first two words (they really stand for one idea).
Vocal Expression
Katherine Jewell Everts
For example, the text uses no hyphen on "today" while one of the captions does hyphenate it.
Hurlbut's Life of Christ For Young and Old
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut
Index entries tend to not hyphenate words that are unhyphenated in the text.
The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens, Volume II (of 2)
Hazard Stevens
Hyphenate compounds of great in phrases indicating degrees of descent; great-grandmother, great-great-grandfather.
Compound Words
Frederick W. Hamilton
Hyphenate compounds of life and world; life-history, world-influence, but (by exception) lifetime.
Compound Words
Frederick W. Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for hyphenate

hyphenate

hyphen

verb

(tr) to separate (syllables, words, etc) with a hyphen

Derived Formshyphenation, noun

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

Word Origin and History for hyphenate

1881, from hyphen + -ate (2). The earlier verb was simply hyphen (1814). Related: Hyphenated; hyphenating. Hyphenated American is attested from 1889.