Hyphens and Dashes in Numbers (with Examples)

Our Story

Hyphens in Numbers

Hyphens are used in numbers:

(1) When writing numbers in full.
  • two hundred thirty-two
  • ninety-six
Note: Hyphenate all numbers between 21 and 99 (less those ending 0, e.g., 50, 60).

(2) When writing fractions in full.
  • one-third
  • two-thirds
  • three-fifths
(3) When putting dividers in long numbers (e.g., serial numbers or telephone numbers)
  • 555-1234-1234
  • X1G44-4453E-QW334-QPLO4
hyphens in numbers
Got it? Take a quick test.

Dashes between Numbers

Dashes are used between numbers:

(1) To show ranges.
  • 0800–0900 hrs
  • 2014–2020
  • 10–15 minutes
  • 100–120 staff
These are en dashes (the same length as a lowercase "n"). They are shorter than em dashes (the same length as uppercase "M").

Read more about dashes with date ranges.
Read more about dashes in numbers.
Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

Help Us To Improve Grammar Monster

  • Do you disagree with something on this page?
  • Did you spot a typo?
Please tell us using this form.

See Also

Hyphens between words Using apostrophes Using brackets parentheses Using colons Using commas Using dashes Using hyphens Using quotation marks Using semicolons