noun / verb
hyphen
HIGH-fun/ˈhaɪfn/
A short punctuation mark (-) used to join words or divide syllables, or to mark text this way.
The pencil points to the hyphen in well-being.
Etymology
“Under one” meant “together, in one,” and became the name of a joining mark. The Greek mark probably indicated how syllables or words were to be said or sung together.
In context
We also use the hyphen to either join together two words or separate parts of a compound word
More examples
- She hyphened the name as requested.
- The editor removed an unnecessary hyphen.
- A line-ending hyphen divided the word between syllables.
Forms
hyphen · hyphens · hyphened · hyphening
hyphenation noun — the use of hyphens
Similar words
- dash
- A dash separates or interrupts sentence elements; a hyphen joins word parts and is shorter.
- minus sign
- A minus sign is a mathematical symbol, distinct in function and typography from a hyphen.