b5.1. Compound words when used as modifiers require, with
a few exceptions, hyphens. (fund-raising effort, decision-making process,
style-conscious buyers, Kentucky-bred horses) Compounds used as nouns,
with the exceptions noted below, do not take a hyphen (When fund raising
is successful, decision making need not occur).
Exception: If a compound is used alone after the verb of being,
it retains the hyphen. (Her primary interest in the field is fund-raising.)
b5.2. Never use a hyphen in a compound beginning with the word very or any adverb ending in-ly (very green complexion, poorly planned wedding).
b5.3. Always use a hyphen (in any situation) in compounds beginning with all-, self-, half-, high- and low-, and ending with -odd. In compounds beginning with good-, well-, ill-, better-, best-, lesser-, least-, etc., always use a hyphen except when preceded by another modifier (very well known dude).
b5.4. Other common hyphenations when used as modifier: fractions (two-thirds majority), measurement (ten-foot pole, six-year-old girl), cross- (cross-country runner), long- (long-lived group), much- (much-beloved entertainer), ever- (ever-loving husband), still- (still-active volcano). Cross-cultural but multicultural with no hyphen.
b5.5. Use hyphens to avoid double vowels or triple consonants (anti-intellectual, bell-like). (Exceptions: cooperate, coordinate, preempt.)
b5.6. Never hyphenate chemical compounds (sodium nitrate), foreign language phrases (pro bono, Sturm und Drang [unless hyphenated in the original language: laissez-faire]), geographical terms ending in wide (statewide elections), compounds formed from unhyphenated proper names (Latin American, Scandinavian Lutheran).
b5.7. Note the following terms, always hyphenated: aide-de-camp; Band-Aid; brand-new; close-up; cure-all; drive-in; far-flung; go-between; grant-in-aid (grants-in-aid); in-house; quick-witted; secretary-general; second-rate, third-rate, etc.; single-handed; short-lived; whatever-in-law; strong-willed; trigger-happy; T-shirt; vote-getter; white-collar; word-of-mouth; year-end.
b5.8. A word that was hyphenated when it was first introduced in the language has evolved and it is no longer hyphenated: email. See also Computer Terms.
b5.9. When referring to someone who has won a prize or award, use a hyphen when the fact is used as a modifier (Nobel Prize-winning physicist Arno Penzias; Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Jules Feiffer). Do not use a hyphen when used as an appositive noun (Nobel Prize winner Arlo Penzias; Jules Feiffer, Pulitzer Prize winner). Note position of hyphen and upper case in phrase (Pulitzer Prize-winning, not Pulitzer-Prize winning or Pulitzer-prizewinning).
b5.10. Do not use a hyphen with dollar amounts before a noun even if it is an adjective. For example: $300 million budget.