hyphenate

American  

[hahy-fuh-neyt, hahy-fuh-nit, -neyt] / ˈhaɪ fəˌneɪt, ˈhaɪ fə nɪt, -ˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

hyphenated, hyphenating

1. to join by a hyphen.

2. to write or divide with a hyphen.

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adjective

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

noun

1. 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.

hyphenate British  

/ ˈhaɪfəˌneɪt /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

• hyphenation noun

Etymology

Origin of hyphenate

First recorded in 1850–55; hyphen + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The guild’s list of work a hyphenate cannot do includes the following:

From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2023

Hello Carolyn: Our son’s wife of several years chose to hyphenate our last name with her maiden name.

From Washington Post • Sep. 4, 2022

“We’d just talk about ourselves and our family history, but we were supposed to be writing,” said Ms. Demirdjian, who will hyphenate her surname.

From New York Times • Aug. 27, 2021

I know this very well, as I never changed my last name to my husband’s—nor did I hyphenate our two names.

From Slate • Mar. 28, 2021

Back then women didn’t keep their own names or hyphenate them.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson