What Are Compound Nouns? (with Examples)

A compound noun is one comprising at least two words. (Sometimes, they are hyphenated.)

Examples of Compound Nouns

Here are some examples of compound nouns:

Mother-in-law

Board of Members

Court-martial

Forget-me-not

Manservant

Cooking-oil

Hyphens in Compound Nouns

There are three forms for compound nouns:

With Spaces: swimming pool, grey matter, fish tank
Without Spaces: shotgun, housework, eyelid
With Hyphens: baby-sitter, laughing-gas, daughter-in-law

There are no definitive rules on which form to use. You have to use your spellchecker or a dictionary. Be aware that many of the words exist in several forms.

Read more about hyphens in compound nouns.

Composition of Compound Nouns

Most compound nouns are made up of two nouns or an adjective and a noun. For example:

Noun + Noun: Bath tub, witchcraft, seaman, wall-paper
Adjective + Noun: Hardware, highway, full moon, whiteboard

However, there are other combinations:

Part of Speech	+	Part of Speech	=	Compound Noun
Sauce (noun)	+	Pan (noun)	=	Saucepan
Soft (adjective)	+	Ware (noun)	=	Software
Break (verb) Washing (verbal)	+	Fast (noun) Machine (noun)	=	Breakfast Washing machine
Sun (noun)	+	Rise (verb)	=	Sunrise
In (preposition)	+	Flux (noun)	=	Influx
Out (preposition)	+	Put (Verb)	=	Output
Check (verb)	+	Out (preposition)	=	Checkout

Related Pages

What Are Compound Nouns? (with Examples)