Hyphens (grammar lesson)


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Hyphens - Glossary of Terms

Hyphens

A hyphen (-) is a punctuation mark used to join the separate parts of a compound word.

Examples:

well-oiled (as in "well-oiled machine")

6-foot (as in "6-foot shark")

cooking-oil

ex-President

Hyphens can also be used when a word at the end of a line continues on to the next line. The hyphen is used to show it is the same word.

Researchers have found a way to elim-
inate the need to keep milk cold.

(This is becoming rare in print due to modern word processors.)

See also:

Glossary of grammatical terms