Here, for your reference, is a long list of the most frequently encountered types of compound adjectives and the rules on hyphenation. When in doubt, always check the dictionary.
| Compound Adjective Formed With | Rule on Hyphenation | Example |
| all | Always hyphenate. | all-inclusive study |
| century | Always hyphenate. | twentieth-century technology |
| cross | Some hyphenated, some open, some closed. Check the dictionary. | cross-referenced section |
| cross-country skis | ||
| But: crosscut saw | ||
| fold | Closed unless formed with numbers of 100 or more. | tenfold increase |
| 100-fold increase | ||
| full | Hyphenated before noun, open after noun. | full-scale drawings |
| The drawings are full scale. | ||
| half | Most hyphenated, some closed. Check the dictionary. | half-inch measurement |
| half-baked plan | ||
| halfway house | ||
| halfhearted attempt | ||
| high, low, upper, lower, middle, mid | Most hyphenated before noun, open after noun. | high-volume trading |
| highbrow organization (check the dictionary!) | ||
| middle-class voters | ||
| midlife crisis | ||
| mid-Atlantic region | ||
| Mideast peace process | ||
| like | Closed unless root word ends in l or ll or has three syllables or more. | catlike jumping ability |
| childlike demeanor | ||
| cathedral-like façade | ||
| number + odd | Always hyphenate compounds formed with numbers (words or numerals) plus the word odd. | twenty-odd pages |
| 360-odd days | ||
| four-hundred-odd socks . . . | ||
| but, four hundred odd socks | ||
| number | Always open when used to express a ratio (with the word percent). | ten percent increase |
| 100 percent change | ||
| Number + Unit of Measure | Always hyphenate | three-mile limit |
| two-week vacation | ||
| 150-yard skid mark | ||
| Number + Unit of Measure + Adjective | Always hyphenate | two-year-old daughter |
| sixty-five-year-old man | ||
| two-and-a-half-year-old child | ||
| twenty-five-foot-high wall | ||
| But: six year-old girls | ||
| Number + Number + Unit of Measure + Adjective | Hyphenate the number and then the adjective | twenty-four six-inch-long measurements |
| Number + Unit of Measure + Adjective (coming after noun) | Hyphenate the number | a man sixty-five years old (note plural years) |
| No hyphen | a wall three meters high | |
| Hyphenate the number | twenty-four boys five years old | |
| fractional numbers | Hyphenate spelled-out fractions used as adjectives. | two-thirds majority |
| In mixed fractions, the whole number is not joined to the fraction by another hyphen. | twenty-one and one-quarter miles | |
| four and one-eighth inches | ||
| numbers | Hyphenate only the numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine. All others are open. | twenty-four bottles of beer on the wall |
| two hundred rock stars | ||
| over, under | Closed unless the word the appears in the compound. | overexposed film |
| underrated basketball team | ||
| over-the-counter stock market | ||
| under-the-table deal | ||
| self | Most hyphenated. Closed if prefix un- is added or suffix added to self. | self-confident applicant |
| self-conscious speaker | ||
| unselfconscious speaker | ||
| selfish act | ||
| selfless character trait | ||
| wide | Always closed unless cumbersome. Cumbersome compounds are hyphenated when they appear before the noun modified and open after the noun modified. | statewide referendum |
| worldwide legal services | ||
| university-wide crusade (comes before the noun modified) | ||
| The crusade was university wide (after noun modified) |
Previous: Compound Adjectives and -ly Adverbs
Next: Combining Various Parts of Speech
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