American English -- Compound Nouns -- Page 1

Explanation and Discussion In American English Compound Nouns are sometimes hyphenated and sometimes not. No real rules exist but some trends do. Below I have some of the major groups of words and their generalities.

Up Words Some compound nouns ending in "UP" are either solid or hyphenated. For Example:

backup	blowup	breakup	buildup	checkup	cleanup	getup	holdup	letup	lineup	linkup
makeup	markup	paste-up	pileup	roundup	setup	slipup	smashup	warm-up	windup	call-up
catch-up	close-up	cover-up	flare-up	follow-up	foul-up	hang-up	jam-up	lead-up	mix-up	mock-up
runner-up	send-up	shake-up	sign-up	start-up	tie-up	toss-up	touch-up	wrap-up	write-up

Down Words Most compound nouns ending in "DOWN" are solid. For Example:

breakdown	closedown	comedown	countdown	crackdown	letdown	lowdown	markdown	meltdown
rubdown	rundown	shakedown	showdown	shutdown	slowdown	sundown	turndown	dressing-down
put-down	sit-down	step-down	wind-down	write-down

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