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THE WRITING CENTER
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Write with confidence
The Hyphen
Use a hyphen to join two or more words working as a single adjective before a noun.
high-flying acrobat
well-rested athlete
high-minded professor
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Use a hyphen with between compound modifiers.
twenty-seven
ninety-eight
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Use a hyphen with prefixes: ex-, self-, all-
ex-marine
ex-president
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Use a hyphen with suffixes: -elect
mayor-elect
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Use a hyphen between a prefix and a capitalized word.
post-Vietnam
mid-March
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Use a hyphen with figures or letters
v-neck
pre-2000
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Don't use a hyphen to join two or more words working as a single adjective if they come after a noun.
The acrobat was high flying.
The athlete was well rested.
The professor was high minded.
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