Questions tagged [open-vs-closed-vs-hyphenated]
This tag is used to clarify the spelling of compound words. Should two words be separated by a space, joined with a hyphen, or run together with no space at all?
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Hyphenation of compounds with terms made of two words
Working on a thesis, I was wondering how to correctly hyphenate (if at all) the term "high data rate" in the following sentence:
High data rate ECUs are connected directly to the backbone.
...
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Are either of the phrases "African-American individuals" or "European-American individuals" hyphenated? [closed]
This is in American English, but if it is different in British English, it is worth a mention.
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When is it okay to contract two nouns to form one? [duplicate]
English doesn't really allow word contractions the way German and Dutch allow or even require. What rules, if any, are there when two nouns should contract to one or not?
e.g. Why toolchain and ...
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Is [Pre-Populates, Pre Populates, Prepopulates] a word?
[Pre-Populates, Pre Populates, Prepopulates]
Simple at first but after some research I can't actually find much on this.
Background/Context: I need to write some sort of tech specification and the ...
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"second largest" vs "second-largest" [duplicate]
Does this construct require an hyphen?
Example:
"We obtained the dataset from HP, the second largest firm in the US by revenues."
"We obtained the dataset from HP, the second-largest ...
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Why are compound words not entirely consistent?
Some compound words are separated by a space (e.g. ice cream). Others are simply joined together (e.g. football, doorknob). Others still are hyphenated (e.g. long-term, off-topic).
Why is the handling ...
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2
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Do compound words have any logic?
My mother tongue is Finnish and Finns are famous for using really long compound words. English also has compound words, too, and there's a great example list of compound words on another site.
Some ...
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"Multi-Award-Winning" or "Multi-Award Winning"?
Which one is the correct use?
I know that "award-winning" uses a hyphen and that "multi" needs a hyphen, but I'm not sure if the hyphen gets a double or single use in "multi-...
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Under the Chicago Manual of Style, does "year over year" need hyphenation when preceding a noun?
In the sentence, The company experienced strong year[-]over[-]year growth., how does the Chicago Manual of Style govern the hyphenation?
Part of me believes that it falls under the "phrases, ...
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Hyphenation of "connected-component labeling"
This wikipedia page refers to connected-component labeling and it places a hyphen between connected and component, but I think there should not be a hyphen there.
I've consulted Canada's hyphenation ...
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Hyphenating a compound word that is space separated [duplicate]
I have the two concept antibody and metal ion and I would like to pair them with conjugated.
In the first case I would use antibody-conjugated.
What's the correct typesetting in the second case?
Is it ...
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Long-term or Long Term? [duplicate]
I'm creating signage for "Long-term Ventilation Unit" and am keeping it as how I just wrote it. But when Googling, I became slightly confused on whether it is "Long Term Ventilation ...
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What is the correct use of dashes in complex phrasal adjectives in British English used in scientific writing?
Are dashes used correctly according to British English rules in the phrases below that appear in published peer-reviewed scientific journals and related articles? If not, why not and what is the ...
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Are multiple hyphenations allowed in extending compound words like "well-controlled"? [duplicate]
It is common to write the phrase "well controlled" as a single, hyphenated adjective, "well-controlled".
If my intention is to place additional adverbs in front of the hyphenated ...
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Which one is more correct, "White-eye Man" or “White-Eye Man”？
My son loves a kind of bird called white-eyes, very much. He wants to call a character in his storybook 'white-eye man,' similar to 'spider man' or iron man. He also wants to use the name as his book'...
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"quantum mechanical" vs "quantum-mechanical" [duplicate]
I'm currently writing a short report, where one (sub-)chapter heading reads:
The quantum(-)mechanical basics
I am now wondering, whether it is preferable with or without the hyphen. When googling ...
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Why is there not a hyphen between "natural" and "language" in the phrase "natural language processing"?
Natural language processing is a field of AI that deals with tasks related to processing natural languages such as English and Spanish, in order to understand and extract data from them. Based on my ...
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What is gender-neutral equivalent of poster boy/poster girl?
What is the gender-neutral equivalent of poster boy/poster girl?
I want to use it in the context of a company, which is neither he nor she, like in: "a poster boy/poster girl company for self-...
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Cosmetics: Make up, make-up, or makeup? [closed]
When referring to cosmetics, which is correct? Make up, make-up, or makeup? And does it matter in case of a noun, verb, adjective?
The actor playing Frankenstein's monster wore 6 pounds of [makeup |
...
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Which is the correct way to write "Back-end Engineer"? [closed]
On the web, I find the following common ways of punctuating and capitalising "Back-end Engineer" as a job title.
Back-End Engineer
Back-end Engineer
Backend Engineer
Which of these is ...
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What's is the right answer: 3-D-printed component vs 3-D printed component vs 3D printed component vs 3D-printed component? [duplicate]
Recently, the editors of a journal where I was publishing a paper changed a small part of the title "3d printed components" for "3-D-Printed Components". However, for a different ...
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Hyphenating Compound Nouns
Grammarly says hyphenating is necessary for a compound adjective before a noun as follows.
The municipal government is funding a community-based education system.
Wind-powered generators can be ...
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2
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Why does English hypenate compounds, while German just mashes them together?
Since starting to learn German, I find myself wanting to use a non-hyphenated word in English, but I always end up adding the hyphen because otherwise it just seems wrong in English. Why is this? Is ...
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Overcollecting fees, over collecting fees, or over-collecting fees?
Should "overcollecting" and "undercollecting" be closed in the sentence below? Or should they be open or hyphenated. The hyphenation guide from the Chicago Manual of Style seems to indicate they ...
user295356
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597
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Combining open compounds using hyphen in enumerations
In German, when enumerating stuff, one could use an "Ergänzungsstrich". This means that parts of compound words in enumerations that are equal can be shortened like this:
Ich mag Eisenbahn-, ...
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Hyphenate "coal supply contracts"?
Should "coal supply contracts" be hyphenated since "coal supply" modifies "contracts"?
Example sentence:
Please provide a copy of the coal supply contract.
user295356
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3
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This program is error free. Or error-free?
Which one is correct in American English:
This computer program is error-free.
This computer program is error free.
... and why? Are, perhaps, both correct? If so, is there any difference in the ...
user353740
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0
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best - fit vs best fit
I'm having a bit of a disagreement about the use of the words "best fit" vs "best - fit" (note the extra spaces suggested).
The sentence is "...and I enjoy analysing human behaviour and drivers to ...
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Hyphenation of -oriented when preceded by two words [duplicate]
Which of these two is correct:
(a) I have experience in data science-oriented programming languages.
or
(b) I have experience in data-science-oriented programming languages.
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False-alarm rate? [duplicate]
When refering to the rate or probability of getting a false alarm from any kind of system for fault detection, I usually see "false alarm rate" writen, but I think it should be "false-alarm rate". Are ...
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How does one correctly use hyphens in the following contexts?
I read a few articles from APA Style Blog's "Hyphenation Station" series (https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/hyphenation/), and I'm using these tips to guide my writing.
I was wondering if anyone on ...
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Hyphen rules: should it be "tracking number" or "tracking-number"? [closed]
In the following sentence:
Once you have a tracking number for the shipment.
Should it be tracking number or tracking-number?
I read through the Wikipedia article, but it didn't give a ...
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Hyphenating measurements in case of a fraction
I am now quite comfortable with the rules of hyphenating measurements (For example, 5-foot-long rod, 7-inch-long handle, etc.) However, what is the rule for hyphenation if the number is a fraction. ...
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Should "uncomment" include a hyphen, or is either one correct?
Should "uncomment" include a hyphen like this: "un-comment", or either one correct?
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2
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When to use hyphens in compound words
I've been puzzled a lot on when to use a hyphen in compounds words such as cross-section, time-of-flight, state-of-the-art etc. I am writing scientific documents and I haven't found a definite rule on ...
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Hyphenation for "300 or 400 level" [duplicate]
Since "400 level" should be hyphenated as "400-level", should "300 or 400 level" be hyphenated as "300- or 400-level," or is there another way to write this?
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Usage of high quality vs high-quality
Am I using the correct grammar by not having high quality hyphenated?
From direct mail, printing & fulfillment, to database analytics and
digital media, Company Name continues to deliver high ...
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7
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When is 'off guard' hyphenated?
How do you decipher when and how to use 'off-guard' or 'off guard'?
Example sentences
“I wanted to find it before my opponents did,” he clarified. “So, if anything was brought up during one of ...
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"Testbed" or "test bed"? [duplicate]
"A testbed is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies" (Wikipedia).
While Wikipedia seems to prefer "...
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Hyphenating "Pulitzer Prize winning" as adjective
I'm looking for authority on hyphenating the following phrase with a compound modifier. Which is correct?
She was a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter, or
She was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, or
...
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Should "in-cabin" be hyphenated in "the dogs must ride in-cabin on the airplane"? [duplicate]
Would the term in-cabin be hyphenated or not? As in, the dogs must ride in-cabin on the airplane.
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'The snap election results' or 'The snap-election results'? [closed]
Which of the two is grammatically correct?
The snap election results are in.
The snap-election results are in.
The sentence should refer to the results of an election that was announced suddenly and ...
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2
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Hyphenating a compound noun in conjunction with '-related'
This is a bit of a conundrum, if you ask me. The compound noun in my title, 'Fluid Flow' does not require hyphenation. On the other hand, this is then followed by '-Related'. If I were to put: "Fluid ...
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Should "request-after-request" be hyphenated?
"All day I get request-after-request for help on passing the Quality Assessment."
The sentence above was originally written as, "All day I get request after request for help on passing the Quality ...
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What is the difference between "twenty-four-hour shift" and twenty-four hour shift"? [closed]
Just read somewhere about this puzzling puzzle:
What is the difference between:
I'm doing a twenty four-hour shift tonight.
I'm doing a twenty-four hour shift tonight.
I'm doing a twenty-four-hour ...
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2
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hyphen in noun-gerund compounds
I am lost with the rule that noun-gerund compounds do not get a hyphen if used as nouns.
Example: He liked novel reading.
Is it correct not to use a hyphen between novel and reading here?
I ...
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Are hyphens correct in "jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction" or should spaces be used?
Are hyphens instead of word spaces OK in the following?
Identification of existing trading relationships and operational requirements, jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction.
The above is from a document ...
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2
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Which form would be correct: cyber security, cyber-security or cybersecurity?
I want to stop changing my mind, I've used all three of the forms cyber security, cyber-security or cybersecurity at different times. There have been previous discussions on this (e.g. here and here) ...
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Why are open source and closed source usually not hyphenated? Should they be? [duplicate]
Typically, English writers do not hyphenate open source or closed source when referring to computer software.
Why is this?
Should they be hyphenated or is it best to not use hyphens for these terms?
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5
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Nonstop, non-stop, or non stop? [closed]
Which is the proper spelling of "nonstop?"
nonstop
or
non stop
or
non-stop
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