hyphen

Pluralhyphens

Formshyphens, hyphening, hyphened

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A short line (-) used to join words together or to break a word at the end of a line.

   Like a tiny bridge that ties two words into one.

   Add a hyphen between the two words to join them into one.

   The word was too long, so she typed a hyphen and finished it on the next line.

   Note
2. 2
   verbdatedtransitive

   To join or split words by putting a small line between them.

   Like drawing a small link between two words to tie them together.

   The teacher told us to hyphen the words 'well' and 'meaning' together.

   Editors used to hyphen many words that we now write as one.

   Similarhyphenate

   Note
3. 3
   nounfigurativelycountable

   A small thing that connects two bigger or more important things.

   Like a small bridge between two big buildings.

   The little town was just a hyphen between two great cities.

   He felt like a hyphen, only there to connect the two famous brothers.

   Similarlink, bridge, connector

   Note
4. 4
   nounfigurativelycountable

   A covered walkway that joins two buildings.

   We walked through the hyphen from the main house to the kitchen wing without going outside.

   They built a covered hyphen so students could pass between buildings in the rain.

   Similarwalkway, passage, corridor, link, skywalk

   Note
5. 5
   nouncountable

   A person from a minority group named by a hyphenated term, like 'German-American'.

   Like someone standing with one foot in each of two countries.

   As a hyphen, he felt at home in both cultures.

   The school welcomed many hyphens whose families came from far away.

   Note
6. 6
   conjunction

   Used between two words, said aloud or written out, to stress that they belong together, like the mark '-'.

   She called herself a singer hyphen songwriter.

   Grandpa calls his old car a car hyphen boat because it leaks every time it rains.

   Similarslash

   Note

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