hyphen

noun

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hy·phen | \ ˈhī-fən

Definition of hyphen

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a punctuation mark - used especially to divide or to compound words, word elements, or numbers

hyphen

verb

hyphened; hyphening; hyphens

Definition of hyphen (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: hyphenate

Other Words from hyphen Example Sentences Learn More About hyphen

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Examples of hyphen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Instead, the Mexicans who came of age in the 1980s were part of the first generation that truly felt comfortable on both sides of the Mexican-American hyphen. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2021 The new incarnation of the Hispano Suiza car company, spelled without the hyphen this time, was founded by some of the descendents of the original company's founders. — Peter Valdes-dapena, CNN, 14 Dec. 2020 Her last name on her driver’s license had a hyphen, while the one in her voter file did not. — Andrew J. Tobias, cleveland, 2 Sep. 2020 That worries people with names that have a hyphen, apostrophe or other special character. — cleveland, 3 Sep. 2020 By the end of the 2019 season, Davis had lost one hyphen and gained a new title: All-American. — Nathan Baird, cleveland, 6 June 2020 Where our economy presumes the supremacy of profit, the hyphen situates the worker and owners as true equals. — Vanessa A. Bee, The New Republic, 3 June 2020 To avoid detection, messages sent by Amazon sales reps stayed generic and frequently used hyphens or periods between letters to describe the rival company, including a-m-a-z-o-n or A.M.Z.N., the cease-and-desist letter alleges. — Laura Stevens, WSJ, 3 Oct. 2018 Balliol authorities seemed not to find this amusing, even with the coy little hyphens. — Washington Post, 20 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Normally, closed caption subtitling bleeps words in a variety of different ways: phrases, such as (bleep), [expletive], or [censored] may be used, though sometimes hyphens or asterisks are substituted instead (f–k, f---, or f*** are all examples. — Ace Ratcliff, SELF, 10 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hyphen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.