hyphenate

verb hy·phen·ate \ ˈhī-fə-ˌnāt \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Examples: hyphenate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of hyphenate

hyphenated; hyphenating

transitive verb

: to connect (words) or divide (a word, such as a word at the end of a line of print) with a hyphen

—

hyphenation

play \ˌhī-fə-ˈnā-shən\ noun

See hyphenate defined for English-language learners

See hyphenate defined for kids

hyphenate was our Word of the Day on 04/08/2012. Hear the podcast!

Examples of hyphenate in a Sentence

In English, we hyphenate some compounds but not others.

Recent Examples of hyphenate from the Web

These are rated as second-highest quality and their names are often hyphenated with the nearby town (e.g. Meursault-Charmes).

— lettie teague, WSJ, "Beat the Burgundy Bubble: 11 Still-Affordable Wines," 7 Dec. 2017
Whether or not to hyphenate is entirely your choice: Jane Riley, Eleanor Rose, Ann-Morgan.

— Southern Living, "Let Mama Name Your Baby in 2017," 27 Dec. 2016
Whether or not to hyphenate is entirely your choice: Jane Riley, Eleanor Rose, Ann-Morgan.

— Southern Living, "Let Mama Name Your Baby in 2017," 1 May 2017

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

First Known Use of hyphenate

circa 1889

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

hyphenate

noun

Definition of hyphenate

: a person who performs more than one function (such as a producer-director in filmmaking)

Recent Examples of hyphenate from the Web

The multi-hyphenate Jessica Williams, actor-host-writer-producer, who is best known for her work on The Daily Show and her podcast 2 Dope Queens, is the type of star who in many ways makes jobs like mine obsolete.

— mary h.k. choi, The Cut, "Jessica Williams Is Ready to Claim What’s Hers," 4 June 2018
Meanwhile O’Connell calls Colorado home and works as a multi-hyphenate creative in the outdoor industry covering everything from writing to hosting a podcast.

— hans aschim, Popular Mechanics, "What It’s Like to Be in 105-Degree Heat for 5 Days," 8 June 2018
Serena Williams isn’t just getting creative with her look at the French Open (that catsuit!) — the multi-hyphenate and arguable greatest athlete of our time now wants to empower women off the tennis court, too.

— refinery29.com, "Serena Williams Is Unstoppable, & Her New Clothing Line Proves It," 31 May 2018
Jennifer Lopez‘s age-defying beauty has many scratching their heads about how the multi-hyphenate star looks and acts so youthful ahead of her 49th birthday in July.

— karen mizoguchi, PEOPLE.com, "Jennifer Lopez Jokes She's 'Holding It Together' Ahead of Turning 50: 'At Some Point I'm Going to Age'," 31 May 2018
Lister-Jones, 35, has a hyphenated name and a multi-hyphenate career.

— alyse whitney, Bon Appetit, "Zoe Lister-Jones on Hiring an All-Women Film Crew and Being a ‘Bone Brothatarian’," 22 May 2018
For example, the Hydrating Skin Prep ($20) is a super-hyphenate, acting as a toner, serum, moisturizer, and primer.

— marci robin, Allure, "EOS Quietly Launched a Skin-Care Collection, Called Aqua," 21 Mar. 2018
The model-artist-activist behind Art Hoe Collective is among the new generation of multi-hyphenates shaping fashion and art.

— janelle okwodu, Vogue, "Meet the Game changing Model-Artist-Activist Behind Art Hoe Collective," 18 May 2018
And that’s when the billionaire multi-hyphenate turned testy.

— maya kosoff, The Hive, "Elon Musk’s Bizarre Call With Analysts Just Cost Him Millions," 3 May 2018

Did You Know?

In the early 20th century, the noun hyphenate referred to a resident or citizen of the U.S. whose recent foreign national origin caused others to question his or her patriotic loyalties - with or without there being just cause for that questioning. These hyphenates - the Irish-Americans, German-Americans, and others - were objects of suspicion. The hyphenates we're highlighting today are more often objects of admiration. Since around 1974, we've been referring to people with hyphens in their titles - producer-directors, for example, as hyphenates.