hyphenate

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hyphenate^¹

/ˈhaɪf(ə)ˌneɪt/ US, UK

verb hyphenates · hyphenating · hyphenated

transitive to break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules by adding a hyphen on the end of the line.
transitive to join words or syllables with a hyphen. you have to hyphenate his surname as it's double-barrelled

hyphenate^²

/ˈhaɪfənət/ US, UK

noun hyphenates

A person or object with multiple duties, abilities or characteristics, such as "writer-director", "actor-model", or "singer-songwriter".
A person whose ethnicity is a multi-word hyphenated term, such as "African-American". We seem to have settled on African-American, and at first glance it certainly does seem logical. […] Not to mention what happens when hyphenates marry other hyphenates and have baby hyphenates.

Translations

Every language

verb to break a word at the end of a line according to the hyphenation rules

Español	guionizar, guionar
Português	hifenizar, hifenar, translinear
Français	mettre la césure
Deutsch	abteilen, trennen

verb to join words or syllables with a hyphen

Português	hifenizar, hifenar
Ελληνικά	συλλαβίζω syllavízo

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MLA

"hyphenate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hyphenate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hyphenate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hyphenate

Chicago

"hyphenate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hyphenate.

BibTeX

@misc{hyphenate_2026,
  title = {hyphenate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hyphenate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}