Compound Words

Compounding in English Examples

Compounds help us understand words as a single unit, which in some cases helps to clarify the meaning of a word or phrase in English.

Fig. 1 - A "vegan-friendly" restaurant is different from a "vegan, friendly" restaurant.

Using a hyphen here shows the reader that the words vegan and friendly should be taken as a single unit. Otherwise, it might be read as, “Let’s look for a vegan friendly restaurant,” with vegan and friendly being two different adjectives to describe a restaurant.

When new things, ideas, or phrases come into the collective consciousness of the public, they need a name or something people can say to refer to them. Compounding words is one of the most (if not the most) common types of word formation in English because it is so easy to do.

These new words can be figurative like chairman (the head of a committee or group, not a chair-shaped man), or simply a combination of the meaning of each of the base words, like lighthouse (a house of light).

The word email wasn’t used until the late twentieth century because email, or electronic mail, didn’t exist until then. There was a need to create a word to communicate this new idea of sending a message electronically, and e-mail —which became email, without the hyphen — was a simple option.

Types of Compound Words

There are three types of compound words: open, closed, and hyphenated.

Open Compounds

Open compound words are formed by combining an adjective with the noun it modifies to create a new noun. These compound words are usually the result of two words being so frequently used together that they eventually come to mean one specific thing.

Even though these words are separated with a space, they’re still considered a single unit. You can tell it’s an open compound word, rather than merely a noun modified by an adjective, because the two words are so regularly used together to mean something specific.

For example, real is not used as the modification of the word estate to express it’s real as opposed to a fake estate. Real estate is the business of buying and selling property and buildings on said property.

Closed Compounds

Closed compound words look the most like a “real word” because there is no space between the two roots.

Two words might form a closed compound because they are so frequently used together.

Fig. 2 - Email is a newer word that came from two base words: electronic and mail.

Hyphenated Compounds

The final type of compound words are hyphenated compounds. These are words that — just like closed and open compounds — are frequently used together. The hyphen connects these words, so they function as one unit.

Many hyphenated compounds become closed compounds if they’re used frequently enough.

Hyphenating Compound Words

You might wonder, “How do I know when to hyphenate a compound word?” There are many rules regarding hyphens in general, and here are the ones that are key in hyphenating compound words.

1. Only hyphenate when the compound comes before the noun it will modify. If it comes after, don’t include a hyphen.

2. When a compound modifier contains an adverb ending in -ly and a participle or adjective, don’t use a hyphen.

Unfortunately, there is not always a consensus about whether to hyphenate compound words or create a closed compound word. If you’re ever in doubt about whether to hyphenate a compound word, consult a dictionary or the appropriate style guide for a definitive answer.

Compound Words List

Here is a longer compound words list for reference.

Open Compound Words

• Sun room

• Cheer up

• Summer break

• Garage sale

• Dress up

• Fire pit

• Jumping jack

• Science fiction

• Vice President

• Swimming pool

Closed Compound Words

• Dishware

• Bookstore

• Seatbelt

• Birthday

• Carpool

• Limelight

• Comeback

• Candlelit

• Football

• Lawsuit

Hyphenated Compound Words

• House-of-mirrors

• Self-contempt

• Father-in-law

• Well-read

• Full-length

• Free-fall

• High-rise

• Life-size

• Deep-fried

• Right-handed