[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/hyphen/)

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# hyphen

noun (a hyphen, hyphens); verb (hyphenate — to join with a hyphen)

«hyphen» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A hyphen is a short line (-) used to join words or parts of words together, as in «well-known» or «twenty-one». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#m1)
2. A hyphen is also used at the end of a line when a word is split and goes on to the next line. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#m2)

### In the lessons

In English grammar and punctuation lessons (and SATs) you learn to use hyphens in compound numbers (thirty-four), in compound adjectives before a noun (a man-eating shark), with some prefixes (re-enter, co-owner) and to avoid confusion (re-cover a sofa versus recover from illness). In writing a hyphen can change the meaning: «a little-used car» and «a little used car» are different. Phrases: use a hyphen, joined by a hyphen, hyphenated word.

### Examples

- Twenty-one has a hyphen in it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x1)
- Put a hyphen in «well-known» when it comes before a noun. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x2)
- The word was too long, so the printer split it with a hyphen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x3)
- My name is double-barrelled, with a hyphen in the middle. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x4)
- Is «e-mail» written with a hyphen or without? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x5)
- A man-eating shark is different from a man eating shark! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x6)
- Re-enter has a hyphen so the two e's do not run together. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x7)
- The teacher circled the missing hyphen. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/#x8)

### Note

Countable: a hyphen, two hyphens. Pronounced «HY-fen». Trap: a hyphen (-) is shorter than a dash (– or —); a hyphen joins words, a dash separates parts of a sentence and has spaces around it in UK style. Do not confuse the hyphen with the minus sign in maths, which looks similar but means subtract. Compound numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine take a hyphen.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «hyphen» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyphen/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«hyphen» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hyphen.html) on Mova free.