95
6. Compounding Rules
(See also Chapter 7 “Compounding Examples”)
6.1. A compound word is a union of two or more words, either with
or without a hyphen. It conveys a unit idea that is not as clearly or
quickly conveyed by the component words in unconnected succes-
sion. e hyphen is a mark of punctuation that not only unites but
also separates the component words; it facilitates understanding,
aids readability, and ensures correct pronunciation. When com-
pound words must be divided at the end of a line, such division
should be made leaving pre xes and combining forms of more than
one syllable intact.
6.2. In applying the rules in this chapter and in using the list of ex-
amples in the following chapter, “Compounding Examples,” the
uid nature of our language should be kept in mind. Word forms
constantly undergo modi cation. Although it is o en the case that
hyphenated compound words eventually lose their hyphen, many
of them start out unhyphenated.
6.3. e rules, therefore, are somewhat exible. Exceptions must nec-
essarily be allowed. Current language trends continue to point to
closing up certain words which, through either frequent use or
widespread dissemination through modern media exposure, have
become xed in the reader’s mind as units of thought. e tendency
to merge two short words continues to be a natural progression to-
ward better communication.
General rules
6.4. In general, omit the hyphen when words appear in regular order
and the omission causes no ambiguity in sense or sound.
banking hours eye opener real estate
blood pressure fellow citizen rock candy
book value living costs training ship
census taker palm oil violin teacher
day laborer patent right
96 Chapter 6
6.5. Words are usually combined to express a literal or nonliteral ( gura-
tive) unit idea that would not be as clearly expressed in unconnected
succession.
a erglow forget-me-not right-of-way
bookkeeping gentleman whitewash
cupboard newsprint
6.6.
A derivative of a compound retains the solid or hyphenated form of
the original compound unless otherwise indicated.
coldbloodedness outlawry Y-shaped
footnoting praiseworthiness
ill-advisedly railroader
6.7.
A hyphen is used to avoid doubling a vowel or tripling a consonant,
except a er the short pre xes co, de, pre, pro, and re, which are gen-
erally printed solid. (See also rules 6.29 and 6.32.)
cooperation semi-independent shell-like
deemphasis brass-smith hull-less
preexisiting Inverness-shire but
anti-in ation thimble-eye co-occupant
micro-organism ultra-atomic cross section
Solid compounds
6.8. Print solid two nouns that form a third when the compound has
only one primary accent, especially when the pre xed noun consists
of only one syllable or when one of the elements loses its original
accent.
airship cupboard footnote
bathroom dressmaker locksmith
bookseller shmonger workman
6.9.
Print solid a noun consisting of a short verb and an adverb as its sec-
ond element, except when the use of the solid form would interfere
with comprehension.
blowout builddown areback
breakdown cooldown giveaway
hangover runo but
holdup setup cut-in
makeready showdown phase-in
marko thowaway run-in
pickup tradeo sit-in
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Compounding Rules 97
6.10. Compounds beginning with the following nouns are usually printed
solid.
book mill snow
eye play way
horse school wood
house shop work
6.11.
Compounds ending in the following are usually printed solid, espe-
cially when the pre xed word consists of one syllable.
berry
bird
blossom
board
boat
book
borne
bound
box
boy
brained
bug
bush
cam
cra
eld
sh
ower
y
girl
grower
headed
hearted
holder
hopper
house
keeper
keeping
land
light
like
line
load
maid
maker
making
man
master
mate
mill
mistress
monger
over
owner
but #ownership
person
picker
picking
piece
plane
power
proof
roach
room
shop
site
skin
smith
stone
store
tail
tight
time (not clock)
ward
ware
water
way
wear
weed
wide
wise
woman
wood
work
worker
working
worm
worthy
writer
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98 Chapter 6
6.12. Print solid any, every, no, and some when combined with body, thing,
and where. When one is the second element, print as two words if
meaning a single or particular person or thing. To avoid mispro-
nunciation, print no one as two words at all times.
anybody everywhere somebody
anything everyone something
anywhere nobody somewhere
anyone nothing someone
everybody nowhere
everything no one
but any one of us may stay; every one of the pilots is responsible; every body was
accounted for
6.13.
Print compound personal pronouns as one word.
herself oneself yourself
himself ourselves yourselves
itself themselves
myself thyself
6.14.
Print as one word compass directions consisting of two points, but
use a hyphen a er the rst point when three points are combined.
northeast north-northeast
southwest south-southwest
also north-south alignment
Unit modifi ers
6.15. Print a hyphen between words, or abbreviations and words, com-
bined to form a unit modi er immediately preceding the word
modi ed, except as indicated in rule 6.16 and elsewhere throughout
this chapter. is applies particularly to combinations in which one
element is a present or past participle.
agreed-upon standards
Baltimore-Washington road
collective-bargaining talks
contested-election case
contract-bar rule
cost-of-living increase
drought-stricken area
English-speaking nation
re-tested material
Federal-State-local cooperation
German-English descent
guided-missile program
hearing-impaired class
high-speed line
large-scale project
law-abiding citizen
long-term loan
line-item veto
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Compounding Rules 99
6.16. Where meaning is clear and readability is not aided, it is not nec-
essary to use a hyphen to form a temporary or made compound.
Restraint should be exercised in forming unnecessary combina-
tions of words used in normal sequence.
6.17. Print without a hyphen a compound predicate (either adjective or
noun) whose second element is a present participle.
e duties were price xing. e shale was oil bearing.
e e ects were far reaching. e area is used for beet raising.
long-term-payment loan
low-cost housing
lump-sum payment
most-favored-nation clause
multiple-purpose uses
no-par-value stock
one-on-one situation
part-time personnel
rust-resistant covering
service-connected disability
state-of-the-art technology
supply-side economics
tool-and-die maker
up-or-down vote
U.S.-owned property; U.S.- agship
1-inch diameter; 2-inch-diameter
pipe
a 4-percent increase, the 10-percent
rise
but
4 percent citric acid
4 percent interest. (Note the absence
of an article: a, an, or the. e
word of is understood here.)
atomic energy power
bituminous coal industry
child welfare plan
civil rights case
civil service examination
durable goods industry
ood control study
free enterprise system
ground water levels
high school student
elementary school grade
income tax form
interstate commerce law
land bank loan
land use program
life insurance company
mutual security funds
national defense appropriation
natural gas company
per capita expenditure
Portland cement plant
production credit loan
public at large
public utility plant
real estate tax
small businessman
Social Security pension
soil conservation measures
special delivery mail
parcel post delivery
speech correction class
but no-hyphen rule (readability
aided); not no hyphen rule
100 Chapter 6
6.18. Print without a hyphen a compound predicate adjective the second
element of which is a past participle. Omit the hyphen in a predicate
modi er of comparative or superlative degree.
e area is drought stricken. is material is re tested.
e paper is ne grained. e cars are higher priced.
Moderately ne grained wood. e reporters are better informed.
6.19.
Print without a hyphen a two-word modi er the rst element of
which is a comparative or superlative.
better drained soil but
best liked books uppercrust society
higher level decision lowercase, uppercase type
highest priced apartment upperclassman
larger sized dress bestseller (noun)
better paying job lighter-than-air cra
lower income group higher-than-market price
6.20.
Do not use a hyphen in a two-word unit modi er the rst element
of which is an adverb ending in ly, nor use hyphens in a three-word
unit modi er the rst two elements of which are adverbs.
eagerly awaited moment but
wholly owned subsidiary ever-normal granary
unusually well preserved specimen ever-rising ood
very well de ned usage still-new car
longer than usual lunch period still-lingering doubt
not too distant future well-known lawyer
most o en heard phrase well-kept secret
6.21.
Proper nouns used as unit modi ers, either in their basic or derived
form, retain their original form; but the hyphen is printed when
combining forms.
Latin American countries
North Carolina roads
a Mexican-American
South American trade
Spanish-American pride
Winston-Salem festival
African-American program
Anglo-Saxon period
Franco-Prussian War
Seventh-day Adventists
but
Minneapolis-St. Paul region
North American-South American
sphere
French-English descent
Washington–Wilkes-Barre route
or Washington/Wilkes-Barre
route
Compounding Rules 101
6.22. Do not confuse a modi er with the word it modi es.
6.23. Where two or more hyphenated compounds have a common basic
element but this element is omitted in all but the last term, the hy-
phens are retained.
2- to 3- and 4- to 5-ton trucks
2- by 4-inch boards, but boards 2 to 6 inches wide
8-, 10-, and 16-foot boards
6.4-, 3.1-, and 2-percent pay raises
moss- and ivy-covered walls, not moss and ivy-covered walls
long- and short-term money rates, not long and short-term money rates
but twofold or threefold, not two or threefold
goat, sheep, and calf skins, not goat, sheep, and calfskins
intrastate and intracity, not intra-state and -city
American owned and managed companies
preoperative and postoperative examination
6.24.
Do not use a hyphen in a unit modi er consisting of a foreign
phrase.
ante bellum days ex o cio member per diem employee
bona de transaction per capita tax prima facie evidence
6.25.
Do not print a hyphen in a unit modi er containing a letter or a
numeral as its second element.
abstract B pages class II railroad point 4 program
article 3 provisions grade A milk ward D beds
elderly clothesman
old-clothes man
competent shoemaker
wooden-shoe maker
eld canning factory
tomato-canning factory
brave servicemen
service men and women
light blue hat (weight)
light-blue hat (color)
average taxpayer
income-tax payer
American agship (military)
American- agship
well-trained schoolteacher
elementary school teacher
preschool children (kindergarten)
pre-school children (before school)
rezoned wastesite
hazardous-waste site
but
common stockholder
stock ownership
small businessman
working men and women
steam powerplant site
meat packinghouse owner
102 Chapter 6
6.26. Do not use a hyphen in a unit modi er enclosed in quotation marks
unless it is normally a hyphenated term, but quotation marks are
not to be used in lieu of a hyphen.
“blue sky” law but
“good neighbor” policy right-to-work law
“tie-in” sale line-item veto
6.27.
Print combination color terms as separate words, but use a hyphen
when such color terms are unit modi ers.
bluish green bluish-green feathers
dark green iron-gray sink
orange red silver-gray body
6.28.
Do not use a hyphen between independent adjectives preceding a
noun.
big gray cat a ne old southern gentleman
Prefi xes, suffi xes, and combining forms
6.29. Print solid combining forms and pre xes, except as indicated
elsewhere.
a erbirth
Anglomania
antedate
antislavery
biweekly
bylaw
circumnavigation
cisalpine
cooperate
contraposition
countercase
deenergize
demitasse
excommunicate
extracurricular
foretell
heroicomic
hypersensitive
hypoacid
inbound
infrared
interview
intraspinal
introvert
isometric
macroanalysis
mesothorax
metagenesis
microphone
misstate
monogram
multicolor
neophyte
nonneutral
o set
outbake
overactive
pancosmic
paracentric
particoated
peripatetic
planoconvex
polynodal
postscript
preexist
proconsul
pseudoscholastic
reenact
retrospect
semi
o cial
stepfather
subsecretary
supermarket
thermocouple
transonic
transship
tricolor
ultraviolet
unnecessary
under ow
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Compounding Rules 103
6.30. Print solid combining forms and su xes, except as indicated
elsewhere.
6.31. Print solid words ending in like, but use a hyphen to avoid tripling a
consonant or when the rst element is a proper name.
lifelike girllike Scotland-like
lilylike bell-like McArtor-like
6.32.
Use a hyphen or hyphens to prevent mispronunciation, to ensure
a de nite accent on each element of the compound, or to avoid
ambiguity.
6.33. Use a hyphen to join duplicated pre xes.
re-redirect sub-subcommittee super-superlative
6.34.
Print with a hyphen the pre xes ex, self, and quasi.
portable
coverage
operate
plebiscite
twentyfold
spoonful
kilogram
geography
manhood
selfish
pumpkin
meatless
outlet
wavelike
procurement
innermost
partnership
lonesome
homestead
northward
clockwise
anti-hog-cholera serum
co-occurrence
co-op
mid-decade
multi-ply (several plies)
non-civil-service position
non-tumor-bearing tissue
pre-midcourse review
pre-position (before)
pro-choice
pro-life
re-cover (cover again)
re-creation (create again)
re-lay (lay again)
re-sorting (sort again)
re-treat (treat again)
un-ionized
un-uniformity
but
rereferred
rereviewed
ex-governor
ex-serviceman
ex-son-in-law
ex-vice-president
self-control
self-educated
quasi-academic
quasi-argument
quasi-corporation
quasi-young
but
sel ood
selfsame
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104 Chapter 6
6.35. Unless usage demands otherwise, use a hyphen to join a pre x or
combining form to a capitalized word. ( e hyphen is retained in
words of this class set in caps.)
Numerical compounds
6.36. Print a hyphen between the elements of compound numbers from
twenty-one to ninety-nine and in adjective compounds with a nu-
merical rst element.
6.37. Print without a hyphen a modi er consisting of a possessive noun
preceded by a numeral. (See also rule 8.14.)
1 month’s layo 3 weeks’ vacation
1 week’s pay 1 minute’s delay
2 hours’ work but a 1-minute delay
anti-American
pro-British
un-American
non-Government
neo-Nazi
post-World War II
or post-Second World War
non-Federal
but
nongovernmental
overanglicize
transatlantic
twenty-one
twenty- rst
6-footer
6-foot-11-inch man
24-inch ruler
3-week vacation
8-hour day
10-minute delay
20th-century progress
3-to-1 ratio
5-to-4 vote
.22-caliber cartridge
2-cent-per-pound tax
four-in-hand tie
three-and-twenty
two-sided question
multimillion-dollar fund
10-dollar-per-car tax
thirty- (30-) day period
but
one hundred twenty-one
100-odd
foursome
threescore
foursquare
$20 million air eld
second grade children
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Compounding Rules 105
6.38. Print a hyphen between the elements of a fraction, but omit it
between the numerator and the denominator when the hyphen ap-
pears in either or in both.
one-thousandth twenty-three thirtieths
two-thirds twenty-one thirty-seconds
two one-thousandths three-fourths of an inch
6.39.
A unit modi er following and reading back to the word or words
modi ed takes a hyphen and is printed in the singular.
motor, alternating-current, 3-phase, 60-cycle, 115-volt
glass jars: 5-gallon, 2-gallon, 1-quart
belts: 2-inch, 1¼-inch, ½-inch, ¼-inch
Civil and military titles
6.40. Do not hyphenate a civil or military title denoting a single o ce,
but print a double title with a hyphen.
6.41. e adjectives elect and designate, as the last element of a title, re-
quire a hyphen.
President-elect (Federal) ambassador-designate
Vice-President-elect (Federal) minister-designate
Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development-designate
ambassador at large
assistant attorney general
commander in chief
comptroller general
Congressman at Large
major general
notary public
secretary general
secretary-treasurer
sergeant at arms
treasurer-manager
under secretary
but under-secretaryship
vice president
but vice-presidency
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106 Chapter 6
Scientifi c and technical terms
6.42. Do not print a hyphen in scienti c terms (names of chemicals, dis-
eases, animals, insects, plants) used as unit modi ers if no hyphen
appears in their original form.
6.43. Chemical elements used in combination with gures use a hyphen,
except with superior gures.
Freon-12 uranium-235 Sr
90
polonium-210 U
235
92
U
234
6.44. Note use of hyphens and closeup punctuation in chemical formulas.
9-nitroanthra(1,9,4,10)bis(1)oxathiazone-2,7-bisdioxide
Cr-Ni-Mo
2,4-D
6.45.
Print a hyphen between the elements of technical or contrived com-
pound units of measurement.
candela-hour light-year work-year
crop-year passenger-mile but kilowatthour
horsepower-hour sta -hour
Improvised compounds
6.46. Print with a hyphen the elements of an improvised compound.
blue-pencil (v.)
18-year-old (n., u.m.)
know-it-all (n.)
know-how (n.)
lick-the- nger-and-test-the-wind
economics
make-believe (n., u.m.)
one-man-one-vote principle
roll-on/roll-o ship
George “Pay-As-You-Go” Miller
stick-in-the-mud (n.)
let-George-do-it attitude
how-to-be-beautiful course
hard-and-fast rule
penny-wise and pound-foolish policy
rst-come- rst-served basis
a basis of rst come, rst served
carbon monoxide poisoning
guinea pig raising
hog cholera serum
methyl bromide solution
stem rust control
equivalent uranium content
whooping cough remedy
but
Russian-olive plantings
Douglas- r tree
but
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Compounding Rules 107
6.47. Use hyphens in a prepositional-phrase compound noun consisting
of three or more words.
cat-o’-nine-tails man-of-war but
government-in-exile mother-in-law heir at law
grant-in-aid mother-of-pearl next of kin
jack-in-the-box patent-in-fee o cer in charge
6.48.
When the corresponding noun form is printed as separate words,
the verb form is always hyphenated.
cold-shoulder blue-pencil cross-brace
6.49.
Print a hyphen in a compound formed of repetitive or con icting
terms and in a compound naming the same thing under two aspects.
6.50. Use a hyphen in a nonliteral compound expression containing an
apostrophe in its rst element.
asses’-eyes bull’s-eye crow’s-nest
ass’s-foot cat’s-paw
6.51.
Use a hyphen to join a single capital letter to a noun or a participle.
6.52. Print idiomatic phrases without hyphens.
come by insofar as nowadays
inasmuch as Monday week
boogie-woogie
comedy-ballet
dead-alive
devil-devil
even-stephen
farce-melodrama
ddle-faddle
hanky-panky
murder-suicide
nitty-gritty
pitter-patter
razzle-dazzle
walkie-talkie
willy-nilly
young-old
but
bowwow
dillydally
hubbub
nitwit
ri ra
H-bomb
I-beam
T-shaped
U-boat
C-chip
C-section
V-necked
S-iron
T-squa re
X-ed out
but
x ray
x raying
S turns
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