Compound words join two or more smaller words into one unit of meaning in three forms: closed (notebook), open (ice cream) and hyphenated (well-being). Use the free Compound Words Finder below to filter closed, open and hyphenated compound words by starting word with a one-line example for each, or browse all 241 curated words.
Learn about word dissection and improve your vocabulary with our list of compound words . We have compiled a comprehensive
Filter by closed, open or hyphenated form, pick a starting word, and copy any compound word with a one-line example.
The parish register antedates the town charter by a century.
She sketched the harbour in the background of the opening scene.
The literary circle meets for a biweekly critique night.
A rear tire blowout stranded the book tour van outside Cork.
Breakfast was strong coffee and toasted sourdough at the kitchen counter.
Good bookkeeping saves a freelance writer hours every tax season.
He stacked the remaindered paperbacks in cardboard boxes.
Simmer the chickpeas with garlic and rosemary until tender.
Pass the manuscript pages clockwise around the workshop table.
She kept spare fountain pen ink in the hallway cupboard.
He liked to finish his first draft before daylight faded.
Folders of research PDFs covered every inch of her desktop.
He bought a cheap spiral pad at the corner drugstore.
The detective lifted a fingerprint from the window latch.
A lone firefly blinked above the wet meadow grass.
The historian buried his sharpest joke in a footnote.
The old almanac claims to foretell the first frost.
His girlfriend read the prologue aloud to test the dialogue.
The elderly gentleman in the front row asked the hardest question.
Every grandparent in the audience recognized the wartime rationing details.
She halved a pink grapefruit before opening her laptop.
A grasshopper sprang from the path into the tall weeds.
The conference banquet left half the panel nursing a hangover.
The publisher moved its headquarters to a converted warehouse.
A customs holdup delayed the shipment of hardcover copies.
Early drafts make many writers hypersensitive to casual feedback.
An infrared camera captured the foxes crossing the garden.
Step inside out of the rain and dry your coat.
A jellyfish drifted past the pier like a lost umbrella.
Crumbs kept jamming the letters on the old keyboard.
A ladybug crawled across the margin of the galley proof.
The landlord agreed to fix the draughty studio window.
The review was mixed; nevertheless, the first printing sold out.
She jotted notes in the quiet hours while the newborn slept.
Nobody in the workshop guessed the narrator was unreliable.
He filled a notebook with overheard conversations.
Wait outside the hall until the reading finishes.
His peripatetic childhood across four countries shaped the memoir.
Leave a bracketed placeholder when a character name stalls your draft.
The contract carved out all preexisting essays and short stories.
The old railroad line now serves as a quiet walking trail.
A rainbow arched over the bay after the squall.
He drafted the entire essay on his smartphone during the commute.
One small plot inconsistency can snowball into a full rewrite.
Sometimes the best opening line sits buried on page four.
Add a spoonful of honey to soothe a tired voice before a reading.
A single sunflower towered over the vegetable patch.
Pack a spare toothbrush in your carry-on.
She polished the chapter during a transatlantic flight to Boston.
The journalist spent six months undercover in the shipping yard.
An upperclassman showed the new reporters how to lay out the paper.
Salmon fought their way upstream against the autumn current.
The puddle left the cyclist briefly airborne over the cobblestones.
The ridge offers a breathtaking view of the valley.
Log every magazine submission in a simple database.
Editing the college review was her favorite extracurricular job.
He locked the signed first editions in a fireproof cabinet.
The bakery window smelled of warm gingerbread and orange peel.
A single headlight swept across the dark lane.
Tourists jaywalk across the plaza despite the signs.
She hid the brass key inside a knothole in the oak tree.
The station loudspeaker crackled with a platform change.
Farmers set up their stalls in the cobbled marketplace at dawn.
The small press secured nationwide distribution for the anthology.
We printed and bound the chapbooks ourselves.
Always proofread the caption before the poster goes to print.
Track your word counts and payment dates in one clean spreadsheet.
Pin a realistic revision timetable above your desk.
Readers naturally root for an underdog with a clear goal.
He found the old interview recorded on a dusty videocassette.
A woodpecker drummed against the dead pine outside the cabin.
Her first published poem appeared in the high school yearbook.
The memoir honors the quiet patience of a family caregiver.
The doorbell rang just as the scene reached its climax.
She dedicated the collection of folk tales to her youngest grandchild.
Short sentences quicken the heartbeat of an action scene.
The innkeeper warned the travelers not to cross the moor at night.
Evergreen reference guides have a much longer lifespan than news posts.
I read the dialogue aloud to myself before sending it to the editor.
The first pancake always sticks to a cold skillet.
The veteran quarterback called an audible at the line.
A rattlesnake coiled in the shade beneath the sandstone ledge.
The children gave the snowman a scarf and a carrot nose.
The zookeeper unlocked the aviary before the morning visitors arrived.
Afternoon light slanted across the library tables.
He proofread the final chapter at the airport gate.
The evening anchorman delivered the bulletin without a teleprompter.
She agreed to babysit the twins on Friday.
She walked barefoot across the cold kitchen tiles.
A scuffed baseball rolled under the bleachers.
Tile echoes made the small bathroom sound like a cavern.
The retired battleship now serves as a floating museum.
The spare bedroom doubles as her writing studio.
Wild blueberry bushes lined the rocky trail.
They shared a slice of lemon cheesecake after the book launch.
An art monograph sat unopened on the low coffee table.
The aging cowboy mended fence lines before sunrise.
Strong poetry often starts with plain, everyday speech.
Muddy football boots stood drying by the back door.
Butter sizzled in the cast-iron frying pan.
In the old days, the magazine sealed assignments with a handshake.
A smudge of red lipstick marked the rim of the teacup.
She checked the mailbox every afternoon for the contributor copy.
Hang your wet raincoat on the peg by the stove.
A teenager clattered past the library steps on a skateboard.
He zipped the sleeping bag up to his chin against the frost.
The backlist title got a cover makeover before the paperback release.
Watermelon slices cooled in a bucket of well water.
The trail ends at a waterfall hidden in the pines.
They spent the weekend repainting the boat.
The library hosted a trivia fundraiser to buy new shelving.
The detective showed up on Monday with a bruised knuckle and a black eye.
Switch your cell phone to airplane mode while you draft.
Missing the last ferry was a close call on a stormy night.
Common sense says to test the ladder before climbing.
He spread the index cards across the long dining room table.
Pack a small first aid kit before hiking the ridge.
The tide runs highest under a full moon.
The sudden twist gave the quiet mystery a jolt like a heart attack.
Her high school reunion fell on the same weekend as the book fair.
She grabbed a hot dog between innings.
We ended the tour with ice cream on the boardwalk.
Every passenger on the skiff wore a bright orange life jacket.
The hospital clerk asked for the patient's next of kin.
Freelancers learn to budget between a quiet month and a double payday.
He stirred peanut butter into the noodle sauce.
Iceland ranks near the top in books published per capita.
Reporters crowded the steps waiting for the prime minister.
Coastal real estate has drawn buyers from the capital.
He muted the television with the remote control and went back to reading.
Analytics act as an honest report card for your headline choices.
Fear tightened around his rib cage as the floorboards creaked.
Every young reporter in the newsroom treated the veteran editor as a role model.
The old wooden roller coaster still draws the longest lines.
A quick search engine query settled the argument.
Take the new outlining workflow for a quick test drive on a short essay.
The abandoned theme park made an eerie setting for the thriller.
Old diaries read like a time capsule of forgotten slang.
The satire poked fun at the manners of the city's upper crust.
The vacuum cleaner swallowed a puzzle piece.
Stale crackers from the hospital vending machine were his only dinner.
The studio adapted the novel into a video game.
The agent left a short voicemail asking for the full manuscript.
Outdated magazines covered the table in the dentist's waiting room.
Every web page on the site loads without pop-up clutter.
The guest lecturer adjusted his crooked bow tie at the podium.
Heavy rain caused the old mine tunnel to cave in.
Pine needles from the Christmas tree scattered across the rug.
Half of the final grade depends on written course work.
She studied fine art in Florence before turning to book illustration.
The investigative series followed the grand jury subpoena.
Plotting a mystery feels like building a jigsaw puzzle backwards.
The summer reading series wraps up on Labor Day weekend.
Buckle the life vest snugly before pushing the canoe off the dock.
The historic movie theater now hosts author talks on weeknights.
His stories trade outer space battles for quiet orbital stations.
Bring a government photo ID to collect your press pass.
The village post office also sells fishing licenses.
The baker's memoir will satisfy any reader with a sweet tooth.
She laced her canvas tennis shoes and walked to the studio.
He finally worked up the nerve to ask out his study partner.
The photo will blow up nicely for the gallery wall.
They had to call off the match at halftime.
He nearly chose to drop out of the program in his first term.
Fill up the tank before we cross the mountains.
A weekend cabin helped her get away from email and finish the play.
The custom began to pass away as the village emptied.
Give me an hour to sort out the seating plan.
The flight will take off once the fog lifts.
The anthology offers a lively cross-section of contemporary Irish essays.
My brother-in-law restores antique clocks.
Lizards are cold-blooded, so they bask on warm rocks.
An ear-splitting whistle signaled the train's departure.
The alibi sounded far-fetched, but it checked out.
Wild forget-me-not blossoms bordered the shaded garden path.
Let a half-baked chapter sit for a week before you cut it.
Lights flickered across the glass high-rise opposite the station.
Launching without a backup plan proved ill-advised.
The clue popped up mid-chapter like a jack-in-the-box.
Nobody wanted to sit beside the office know-it-all.
Avoid last-minute formatting panic by checking the style guide early.
A good heist novel makes even law-abiding readers cheer for the thief.
The finished novel felt light-years ahead of the clumsy first draft.
The city signed a long-term lease on the stadium.
Children slip into make-believe worlds without needing a prologue.
The planetarium show was mind-blowing.
Chapter four gets down to the nitty-gritty of book contract clauses.
Each student gets a one-on-one session with the editor.
An over-the-counter painkiller dulled the headache enough to keep editing.
The pitter-patter of rain on the skylight set the pace for the afternoon.
The runner-up received a publishing consultation.
It took real self-control not to read the ending first.
The so-called shortcut added three miles to the mountain hike.
Don't be a stick-in-the-mud when a draft wants to take a funnier turn.
He wore a faded V-necked sweater over a collared shirt.
The old pantry was large enough to serve as a walk-in closet.
Ten minutes of freewriting acts as a daily warm-up before the real chapter.
Daily walks did wonders for his well-being.
Take the left fork where the gravel lane splits into a Y-shaped junction.
They rented a cedar A-frame cabin in the woods for the writing retreat.
Online check-in opens a day before the flight.
Her father-in-law taught her to sail.
You do not need high-tech gear to keep a reliable notebook habit.
The magazine commissioned an in-depth profile of the translator.
Manuscript pages lay sorted in piles across the king-size bed.
A life-size cardboard cutout of the detective stood by the bookshop door.
The restored merry-go-round reopened in the spring.
On-site childcare made the weekend conference workable for parents.
We stopped for fuel at a quiet self-service station on the highway.
Flaws and contradictions make a flat character feel three-dimensional.
The driver made a sharp U-turn when the bridge came into view.
Keep your contact details up-to-date in the portal.
Word-of-mouth recommendations drove the memoir onto the bestseller list.
Tight revision acts like an X-ray on the structure of an argument.
The absent-minded professor left his keys in the lecture hall again.
The brown-eyed terrier waited patiently beside the writing desk.
She spent three years expanding the essay into a full-length book.
The prize is open to any novel written in the English-speaking world.
The cover redesign is undeniably good-looking.
The award recognized the festival's hard-working volunteers.
Choose a long-lasting finish for the outdoor furniture.
The market stalls filled the square with mouth-watering smells.
She edits part-time while finishing her degree.
Keyboard shortcuts are a genuinely time-saving habit for any writer.
The bakery's world-famous soda bread sells out by morning.
Those stone field walls antedate the famine roads.
Chickpea flour thickens the soup without changing its flavor.
Follow the coastal footpath past the Martello tower.
Squinting at small galley type gave the proofreader a headache.
The guild gave the plagiarist the cold shoulder at the annual dinner.
Pink cotton candy melted on the humid fairground midway.
Check your voice mail before calling the source back.
The rhythmic thump of the washing machine echoed down the hall.
Workshop partners used role play to test the courtroom dialogue.
A log fire warmed the living room while the storm rattled the shutters.
Local illustrators formed a printing co-op to share press costs.
The editor-in-chief signed off on the investigative cover story.
After three hours in the archive, the biographer left empty-handed.
A single light-year spans nearly six trillion miles of vacuum.
Give the antagonist a fair argument so the conflict never feels one-sided.
Nothing saved yet. Use the save button next to any result in the rhyme finder or word generator and it will show up here, on any tool page, even after you close the tab.
A compound word joins two or more smaller words into a single unit of meaning, the way sun and flower become sunflower. English forms compounds in three ways: closed compounds written as one word, open compounds written with a space, and hyphenated compounds joined by a hyphen. The tricky part for writers is that the same pair of words can shift form over time or change form by role, so a dictionary check is the only reliable arbiter.
Closed compounds fuse two words into a single word with no space or hyphen, and they are usually the oldest and most established compounds in the language.
Open compounds keep a space between the words, yet the pair still functions as a single noun with its own meaning.
Hyphenated compounds link their parts with a hyphen, a form common for family terms, coined nouns, and compounds still settling into the language.
Compound adjectives combine two words into a single description, and they usually take a hyphen when they sit directly before the noun they modify.
Some compounds act as verbs, either fused into one word like babysit or formed as verb-plus-particle pairs whose combined meaning differs from the parts.
Tap any word to see it used in a sentence.
The parish register antedates the town charter by a century.
She sketched the harbour in the background of the opening scene.
The literary circle meets for a biweekly critique night.
A rear tire blowout stranded the book tour van outside Cork.
Breakfast was strong coffee and toasted sourdough at the kitchen counter.
Good bookkeeping saves a freelance writer hours every tax season.
He stacked the remaindered paperbacks in cardboard boxes.
Simmer the chickpeas with garlic and rosemary until tender.
Pass the manuscript pages clockwise around the workshop table.
She kept spare fountain pen ink in the hallway cupboard.
He liked to finish his first draft before daylight faded.
Folders of research PDFs covered every inch of her desktop.
He bought a cheap spiral pad at the corner drugstore.
The detective lifted a fingerprint from the window latch.
A lone firefly blinked above the wet meadow grass.
The historian buried his sharpest joke in a footnote.
The old almanac claims to foretell the first frost.
His girlfriend read the prologue aloud to test the dialogue.
The elderly gentleman in the front row asked the hardest question.
Every grandparent in the audience recognized the wartime rationing details.
She halved a pink grapefruit before opening her laptop.
A grasshopper sprang from the path into the tall weeds.
The conference banquet left half the panel nursing a hangover.
The publisher moved its headquarters to a converted warehouse.
A customs holdup delayed the shipment of hardcover copies.
Early drafts make many writers hypersensitive to casual feedback.
An infrared camera captured the foxes crossing the garden.
Step inside out of the rain and dry your coat.
A jellyfish drifted past the pier like a lost umbrella.
Crumbs kept jamming the letters on the old keyboard.
A ladybug crawled across the margin of the galley proof.
The landlord agreed to fix the draughty studio window.
The review was mixed; nevertheless, the first printing sold out.
She jotted notes in the quiet hours while the newborn slept.
Nobody in the workshop guessed the narrator was unreliable.
He filled a notebook with overheard conversations.
Wait outside the hall until the reading finishes.
His peripatetic childhood across four countries shaped the memoir.
Leave a bracketed placeholder when a character name stalls your draft.
The contract carved out all preexisting essays and short stories.
The old railroad line now serves as a quiet walking trail.
A rainbow arched over the bay after the squall.
He drafted the entire essay on his smartphone during the commute.
One small plot inconsistency can snowball into a full rewrite.
Sometimes the best opening line sits buried on page four.
Add a spoonful of honey to soothe a tired voice before a reading.
A single sunflower towered over the vegetable patch.
Pack a spare toothbrush in your carry-on.
She polished the chapter during a transatlantic flight to Boston.
The journalist spent six months undercover in the shipping yard.
An upperclassman showed the new reporters how to lay out the paper.
Salmon fought their way upstream against the autumn current.
The puddle left the cyclist briefly airborne over the cobblestones.
The ridge offers a breathtaking view of the valley.
Log every magazine submission in a simple database.
Editing the college review was her favorite extracurricular job.
He locked the signed first editions in a fireproof cabinet.
The bakery window smelled of warm gingerbread and orange peel.
A single headlight swept across the dark lane.
Tourists jaywalk across the plaza despite the signs.
She hid the brass key inside a knothole in the oak tree.
The station loudspeaker crackled with a platform change.
Farmers set up their stalls in the cobbled marketplace at dawn.
The small press secured nationwide distribution for the anthology.
We printed and bound the chapbooks ourselves.
Always proofread the caption before the poster goes to print.
Track your word counts and payment dates in one clean spreadsheet.
Pin a realistic revision timetable above your desk.
Readers naturally root for an underdog with a clear goal.
He found the old interview recorded on a dusty videocassette.
A woodpecker drummed against the dead pine outside the cabin.
Her first published poem appeared in the high school yearbook.
The memoir honors the quiet patience of a family caregiver.
The doorbell rang just as the scene reached its climax.
She dedicated the collection of folk tales to her youngest grandchild.
Short sentences quicken the heartbeat of an action scene.
The innkeeper warned the travelers not to cross the moor at night.
Evergreen reference guides have a much longer lifespan than news posts.
I read the dialogue aloud to myself before sending it to the editor.
The first pancake always sticks to a cold skillet.
The veteran quarterback called an audible at the line.
A rattlesnake coiled in the shade beneath the sandstone ledge.
The children gave the snowman a scarf and a carrot nose.
The zookeeper unlocked the aviary before the morning visitors arrived.
Afternoon light slanted across the library tables.
He proofread the final chapter at the airport gate.
The evening anchorman delivered the bulletin without a teleprompter.
She agreed to babysit the twins on Friday.
She walked barefoot across the cold kitchen tiles.
A scuffed baseball rolled under the bleachers.
Tile echoes made the small bathroom sound like a cavern.
The retired battleship now serves as a floating museum.
The spare bedroom doubles as her writing studio.
Wild blueberry bushes lined the rocky trail.
They shared a slice of lemon cheesecake after the book launch.
An art monograph sat unopened on the low coffee table.
The aging cowboy mended fence lines before sunrise.
Strong poetry often starts with plain, everyday speech.
Muddy football boots stood drying by the back door.
Butter sizzled in the cast-iron frying pan.
In the old days, the magazine sealed assignments with a handshake.
A smudge of red lipstick marked the rim of the teacup.
She checked the mailbox every afternoon for the contributor copy.
Hang your wet raincoat on the peg by the stove.
A teenager clattered past the library steps on a skateboard.
He zipped the sleeping bag up to his chin against the frost.
The backlist title got a cover makeover before the paperback release.
Watermelon slices cooled in a bucket of well water.
The trail ends at a waterfall hidden in the pines.
They spent the weekend repainting the boat.
The library hosted a trivia fundraiser to buy new shelving.
The detective showed up on Monday with a bruised knuckle and a black eye.
Switch your cell phone to airplane mode while you draft.
Missing the last ferry was a close call on a stormy night.
Common sense says to test the ladder before climbing.
He spread the index cards across the long dining room table.
Pack a small first aid kit before hiking the ridge.
The tide runs highest under a full moon.
The sudden twist gave the quiet mystery a jolt like a heart attack.
Her high school reunion fell on the same weekend as the book fair.
She grabbed a hot dog between innings.
We ended the tour with ice cream on the boardwalk.
Every passenger on the skiff wore a bright orange life jacket.
The hospital clerk asked for the patient's next of kin.
Freelancers learn to budget between a quiet month and a double payday.
He stirred peanut butter into the noodle sauce.
Iceland ranks near the top in books published per capita.
Reporters crowded the steps waiting for the prime minister.
Coastal real estate has drawn buyers from the capital.
He muted the television with the remote control and went back to reading.
Analytics act as an honest report card for your headline choices.
Fear tightened around his rib cage as the floorboards creaked.
Every young reporter in the newsroom treated the veteran editor as a role model.
The old wooden roller coaster still draws the longest lines.
A quick search engine query settled the argument.
Take the new outlining workflow for a quick test drive on a short essay.
The abandoned theme park made an eerie setting for the thriller.
Old diaries read like a time capsule of forgotten slang.
The satire poked fun at the manners of the city's upper crust.
The vacuum cleaner swallowed a puzzle piece.
Stale crackers from the hospital vending machine were his only dinner.
The studio adapted the novel into a video game.
The agent left a short voicemail asking for the full manuscript.
Outdated magazines covered the table in the dentist's waiting room.
Every web page on the site loads without pop-up clutter.
The guest lecturer adjusted his crooked bow tie at the podium.
Heavy rain caused the old mine tunnel to cave in.
Pine needles from the Christmas tree scattered across the rug.
Half of the final grade depends on written course work.
She studied fine art in Florence before turning to book illustration.
The investigative series followed the grand jury subpoena.
Plotting a mystery feels like building a jigsaw puzzle backwards.
The summer reading series wraps up on Labor Day weekend.
Buckle the life vest snugly before pushing the canoe off the dock.
The historic movie theater now hosts author talks on weeknights.
His stories trade outer space battles for quiet orbital stations.
Bring a government photo ID to collect your press pass.
The village post office also sells fishing licenses.
The baker's memoir will satisfy any reader with a sweet tooth.
She laced her canvas tennis shoes and walked to the studio.
He finally worked up the nerve to ask out his study partner.
The photo will blow up nicely for the gallery wall.
They had to call off the match at halftime.
He nearly chose to drop out of the program in his first term.
Fill up the tank before we cross the mountains.
A weekend cabin helped her get away from email and finish the play.
The custom began to pass away as the village emptied.
Give me an hour to sort out the seating plan.
The flight will take off once the fog lifts.
The anthology offers a lively cross-section of contemporary Irish essays.
My brother-in-law restores antique clocks.
Lizards are cold-blooded, so they bask on warm rocks.
An ear-splitting whistle signaled the train's departure.
The alibi sounded far-fetched, but it checked out.
Wild forget-me-not blossoms bordered the shaded garden path.
Let a half-baked chapter sit for a week before you cut it.
Lights flickered across the glass high-rise opposite the station.
Launching without a backup plan proved ill-advised.
The clue popped up mid-chapter like a jack-in-the-box.
Nobody wanted to sit beside the office know-it-all.
Avoid last-minute formatting panic by checking the style guide early.
A good heist novel makes even law-abiding readers cheer for the thief.
The finished novel felt light-years ahead of the clumsy first draft.
The city signed a long-term lease on the stadium.
Children slip into make-believe worlds without needing a prologue.
The planetarium show was mind-blowing.
Chapter four gets down to the nitty-gritty of book contract clauses.
Each student gets a one-on-one session with the editor.
An over-the-counter painkiller dulled the headache enough to keep editing.
The pitter-patter of rain on the skylight set the pace for the afternoon.
The runner-up received a publishing consultation.
It took real self-control not to read the ending first.
The so-called shortcut added three miles to the mountain hike.
Don't be a stick-in-the-mud when a draft wants to take a funnier turn.
He wore a faded V-necked sweater over a collared shirt.
The old pantry was large enough to serve as a walk-in closet.
Ten minutes of freewriting acts as a daily warm-up before the real chapter.
Daily walks did wonders for his well-being.
Take the left fork where the gravel lane splits into a Y-shaped junction.
They rented a cedar A-frame cabin in the woods for the writing retreat.
Online check-in opens a day before the flight.
Her father-in-law taught her to sail.
You do not need high-tech gear to keep a reliable notebook habit.
The magazine commissioned an in-depth profile of the translator.
Manuscript pages lay sorted in piles across the king-size bed.
A life-size cardboard cutout of the detective stood by the bookshop door.
The restored merry-go-round reopened in the spring.
On-site childcare made the weekend conference workable for parents.
We stopped for fuel at a quiet self-service station on the highway.
Flaws and contradictions make a flat character feel three-dimensional.
The driver made a sharp U-turn when the bridge came into view.
Keep your contact details up-to-date in the portal.
Word-of-mouth recommendations drove the memoir onto the bestseller list.
Tight revision acts like an X-ray on the structure of an argument.
The absent-minded professor left his keys in the lecture hall again.
The brown-eyed terrier waited patiently beside the writing desk.
She spent three years expanding the essay into a full-length book.
The prize is open to any novel written in the English-speaking world.
The cover redesign is undeniably good-looking.
The award recognized the festival's hard-working volunteers.
Choose a long-lasting finish for the outdoor furniture.
The market stalls filled the square with mouth-watering smells.
She edits part-time while finishing her degree.
Keyboard shortcuts are a genuinely time-saving habit for any writer.
The bakery's world-famous soda bread sells out by morning.
Those stone field walls antedate the famine roads.
Chickpea flour thickens the soup without changing its flavor.
Follow the coastal footpath past the Martello tower.
Squinting at small galley type gave the proofreader a headache.
The guild gave the plagiarist the cold shoulder at the annual dinner.
Pink cotton candy melted on the humid fairground midway.
Check your voice mail before calling the source back.
The rhythmic thump of the washing machine echoed down the hall.
Workshop partners used role play to test the courtroom dialogue.
A log fire warmed the living room while the storm rattled the shutters.
Local illustrators formed a printing co-op to share press costs.
The editor-in-chief signed off on the investigative cover story.
After three hours in the archive, the biographer left empty-handed.
A single light-year spans nearly six trillion miles of vacuum.
Give the antagonist a fair argument so the conflict never feels one-sided.
A compound word is a word built from two or more smaller words that combine into a single unit of meaning. The new word often means something related to but distinct from its parts, the way a greenhouse is not simply a house that is green. Compounds can act as nouns, adjectives, or verbs.
Compound words come in three forms. Closed compounds are written as one word, such as notebook and rainbow. Open compounds keep a space between the parts, such as ice cream and high school, while hyphenated compounds join the parts with a hyphen, such as well-being and merry-go-round.
Check a current dictionary first, because usage settles compound forms case by case and they shift over time. A useful general rule covers compound adjectives: hyphenate them before a noun, as in a well-known author, but leave them open after the verb, as in the author is well known. When style guides disagree, pick one form and apply it consistently.
A compound word keeps both original words intact, as in football or bookkeeping. A blended word, also called a portmanteau, fuses fragments of two words into one, the way brunch merges breakfast and lunch. In a compound you can still see both complete words; in a blend at least one of them has been clipped.
Yes, and many follow a predictable drift from open to hyphenated to closed as they become familiar. Electronic mail became e-mail and then email within a generation. This is why dictionaries sometimes disagree with each other about a compound's form, and why checking a recent edition matters more than memorizing a rule.
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