Hyphen in Compound Adjectives Before a Noun
The Hyphen
Rulebase Summary
When two or more words combine to express a single idea and act as an adjective before the noun they modify, join them with hyphens. This covers a wide range of constructions: number-plus-noun (ten-year period), well-plus-participle (well-known attorney), prepositional phrases used as modifiers (state-of-the-art equipment), noun-plus-participle (mind-boggling, time-consuming), adjective-plus-noun-ed (cold-blooded), adjective-plus-noun (large-scale), noun-plus-noun of equal rank (doctor-patient privilege), and verb-plus-verb phrases (stop-and-go traffic).
Percentages are an exception — no hyphen is used (a 30 percent increase). When the compound modifier stretches beyond five or six words, enclose it in quotation marks rather than hyphenating. When a compound modifier contains two choices joined by 'and,' separate them with a comma (a civil, and criminal-defense claim); when joined by 'or,' use a slant (an indoor/outdoor seating area).
Repeated words forming a one-thought modifier are hyphenated wherever they occur (a go-go dancer; it is very hush-hush). Words expressing a range, alternate views, or rhyme are hyphenated wherever they occur (a give-and-take relationship). The nonwords uh-huh (yes) and uh-uh (no) are always hyphenated.
When type, kind, or sort appears in a compound modifier before the head noun, hyphen through that word as part of the chain — the whole pre-noun unit is one compound adjective. Officer-type job, multiple-choice-type worksheet, written-or-oral-type summary, and affirmative-or-negative-type reply all follow this pattern. Do not leave type, kind, or sort open inside the modifier (officer type job, multiple-choice type worksheet). When or joins words in the modifier, hyphen them as one unit through type (written-or-oral-type summary, not written- or oral-type summary — suspending would imply two separate types). Some reporters leave familiar phrases open in testimony; follow reporter preference when established.
When a longer modifier contains an established two-word compound such as blood pressure, oil pressure, or water level, keep the pair open inside the phrase (high blood pressure reading, low oil pressure warning, low water level alarm). Do not chain hyphens through the fixed pair (low-oil-pressure warning, low-water-level alarm). Measurement-plus-warning phrases in testimony often stay open throughout (low pressure warning). See 'No Hyphen for Closely Associated Word Pairs.' When the parse is debatable, follow reporter preference — some reporters hyphenate a strict two-word compound (low-pressure warning) when they read low and pressure as one unit before warning.
Examples
A. He signed a three year lease on that property.
A. He signed a three-year lease on that property.
Number-plus-noun acting as a compound adjective before 'lease' requires a hyphen.
Q. Was this a well known fact in the department?
Q. Was this a well-known fact in the department?
Well-plus-participle modifying a noun takes a hyphen.
A. She accepted a full time position with the firm in October.
A. She accepted a full-time position with the firm in October.
Full-time is a direct adjective modifying 'position' — hyphenate before the noun. In the predicate position ('the position is full time'), the hyphen drops.
A. He took an officer type job with the agency last spring.
A. He took an officer-type job with the agency last spring.
Type joins the compound modifier before the head noun — hyphen through type (officer-type job), not officer type job.
Q. Did counsel submit a multiple-choice type worksheet?
Q. Did counsel submit a multiple-choice-type worksheet?
Hyphen through type before the head noun — same pattern as officer-type job.
Q. Did the witness give an affirmative-or-negative type reply?
Q. Did the witness give an affirmative-or-negative-type reply?
When or joins words in the modifier, hyphen the unit through type — not a suspended hyphen (affirmative- or negative-type reply).
A. It had a low-pressure warning -- low-oil-pressure warning.
A. It had a low pressure warning -- low oil pressure warning.
Measurement-plus-warning phrases in testimony usually stay open, like high blood pressure reading. Do not chain hyphens through oil pressure. Some reporters hyphenate low-pressure as a strict two-word compound — reporter preference.
Transcript Notes
Speakers often create awkward constructions where the adjective phrase preceding the noun is stretched beyond reasonable bounds but must be written verbatim. For clarity, if the phrase exceeds five or six words or may be misread, use quotes around it instead of hyphens. If the phrase is shorter than six words, use hyphens. Using both quotes and hyphens for long expressions is no longer recommended.
To test whether a compound adjective needs a hyphen: check whether the first word modifies the second-word-plus-noun combination independently. If the first word modifies the noun on its own and the second word also modifies the noun independently, no hyphen is needed (a 'sunny breakfast room' is a 'breakfast room' that is 'sunny'). If the first word does NOT independently modify the noun but instead modifies the second word, and together they form a single unit modifying the noun, a hyphen is required (a 'low-cost option' — it is not a 'cost option' that is 'low'). This test helps distinguish true compound adjectives from stacked independent modifiers.
When an article ('the,' 'a') precedes a multi-word compound modifier, all the words in the modifier must be hyphenated together ('the several-million-dollar homes'). Without the article, there may be flexibility ('several million-dollar homes' is also acceptable).
Dictionary-listed compounds (full-time, part-time, long-term, short-term): the hyphenated form in the dictionary reflects the direct-adjective (before-noun) position only. It does not settle what happens after the noun. Before a noun, hyphenate ('a full-time position,' 'a short-term contract'). After a linking verb (predicate-adjective position), drop the hyphen ('the position is full time,' 'the contract was short term'). After an action verb, if the dictionary lists a hyphenated adverb form (as it does for full-time and part-time), keep the hyphen ('he travels full-time'). As a noun or concept, no hyphen ('full time is 40 hours') — the dictionary does not list a noun form. See the 'Hyphen in Compound Adjectives After a Noun' rule for the predicate and adverb detail.
Words like 'then,' 'former,' 'late,' 'future,' and 'onetime' are standalone adjectives when placed before a title or role — they modify the noun directly, not as part of a compound. 'The then president' means 'the president at that time'; 'the former legal counsel' means 'the legal counsel who served previously.' These words pass the modification test above: they independently modify the noun, so no hyphen is needed. Do not confuse this with true compound modifiers where 'then' modifies another adjective ('then-current policy,' 'then-existing law') — there, 'then' does not independently modify the noun, so the hyphen is required. Hyphenating incorrectly ('the then-legal counsel') can change the meaning, implying that the counsel was 'legal at that time' rather than identifying the person who held the role.
Style Guide References (3)
Morson's
BGGP
BGGP