Hyphens (-)
- Use a hyphen to indicate compound words:
Mother-in-law
- Use a hyphen to join two word units:
Long-standing
- Use a hyphen to avoid doubling vowels and tripling consonants:
Anti-intellectual instead of antiintellectual
- Use a hyphen between words that are spelled alike but have different meanings:
Re-creation does not mean the same thing as recreation.
- Use a hyphen to form a compound adjective preceding a noun:
Spike Lee is a well-known film director.
- Do not use a hyphen to form a compound word after a linking verb.
Film director Spike Lee is well known.
Click here to read more about hyphens in the context of correct grammar.