Definitions

1. noun

a punctuation mark (-) used to join words or parts of words in writing, indicating a break in a word or a connection between words.

“The word ‘self-portrait’ contains two hyphens to connect the words.”

2. verb

to join or connect two or more words, parts of words, or lines of text with a hyphen.

“The editor hyphened the word to make it easier to read.”

3. verb

to remove or eliminate a hyphen from a word or phrase.

“The proofreader decided to dehyphenate the word for better formatting.”