Style Manual
General Usage Questions
C11. Correct Spellings/Usages:
Compound Words
- airtight
- ballclub, ballpark, ballplayer
- citywide, countrywide, nationwide, statewide (see hyphens)
- coursework
- daylong, weeklong, monthlong, yearlong
- daytime, nighttime
- database
- easygoing
- eyestrain, eyewitness
- floodwaters
- full-time, part-time (hyphen as adjective, spelled open as noun)
- grassroots
- laughingstock
- lifestyle
- longtime (as adjective: longtime partners)
- midterm (no hyphen)
- moreover
- newswire
- oceangoing
- officeholder
- peacekeeper, peacemaker
- peacetime, wartime
- recentered range (new word, refers to SAT scores)
- redhanded
- redhead, redheaded
- redneck
- secondhand (as modifier: it was bought secondhand)
- shoeshine, shoestring
- shopworn
- springtime, summertime, wintertime
- stopgap
- storyteller
- strikebreaker
- threefold, fourfold, fivefold, etc.
- under water (prepositional phrase)
- underwater (adjective)
- under way (adverb) in motion
- underway (adjective)occuring or used while travelling
- upperclassman, upperclass student (not in dictionary but has
developed in common usage)
- wildlife
- workday, workweek
- workplace
- wrongdoing
Return to Table of Contents