Hyphen

When to use a hyphen in English

The hyphen is mostly used to form compound nouns. There are, however, a few other functions which are explained in the tabs below. Be careful not to confuse the hyphen with the dash, the hyphen is shorter.

Read on to learn more about the use of hyphens in your English writing.

Contents

Compound Nouns

Use a hyphen with some compound nouns.

Example:
Check-out is at 10:00 am.
I like chocolate ice-cream.

Info

There aren’t really any rules as to when compound nouns are written together (sunrise), with a space (bus stop), or hyphenated (mother-in-law). Nouns formed with more than two words are usually hyphenated. Check a dictionary if you are unsure.

Example:
There was a beautiful sunrise this morning.
The bus stop is across the road.
My mother-in-law doesn’t like strawberries.

Adjectives and Adverbs

Use hyphens in adjectives and adverbs formed from two or more words.

Example:
Laura is a well-dressed woman.
The hospital is ill-equipped and dangerous.
Amy is a 7-year-old pupil.

Use hyphens between adjectives to avoid ambiguity.

Example:
a little-used bicycle.

a bicycle which has not been used much

but:
a little used bicycle.

a used bicycle that is small

See comma for more information about punctuation with adjectives and adverbs.

Prefixes

Don’t use hyphens with words formed with a word and short prefix.

Example:
prepay
underdog
declassify

However, some words with the prefix re meaning again require a hyphen to avoid confusion. Compare the following:

Example:
Can you re-sort that box of toys?
We stayed in a resort on the beach.
My mother re-covered her old couch, now it looks brand new.
Lucy recovered quickly from her cold.

Sometimes a hyphen is used to separate identical letters, especially in British English.

Example:
pre-empt
re-examine
co-operate

Fractions

Use hyphens with written fractions.

Example:
Two-thirds of a cup of flour
Three-quarters of the crowd had already left.