Compound Words - CITY IELTS

See below the explanation on compound words

What are Compound Words?

Compound words are formed when two or more words are put together to form a new word with a new meaning.

For example, “sun” and “flower” are two different words, but when fused together, they form another word, Sunflower. These words are formed by either adding a hyphen or just using the two words as a single term. The spelling of the two words is not necessarily changed when they are joined together, but the definition becomes unique.

They can function as different parts of speech, which can dictate what form the compound takes on. For example, the word carry over is an open compound word when it’s used as a verb but it is closed when used as a noun and an a adjective.

This surplus will carry over to next season.

The extra supplies were part of the carryover from the budget.

Compound words are so prevalent in the English language we don’t think much about them – until it’s time to write them. Then we often have to stop and think about how they’re put together.

Consider the words “make up” and “makeup”. This is a more advanced example of a compound word because the resulting combination is a homonym and can be used in more than one way.

Make up your mind fast.
My makeup was ruined by the rain!
I have a makeup exam tomorrow.

In the first sentence, make up is a verb. In the second sentence, makeup is used as a noun. In the third sentence, we see makeup as an adjective describing “exam.”

Examples of Compound Words

Compound words fall within three categories and it’s not unusual to find the same word in more than one group. Here are the three types of compound words with an explanation and examples of each:

1) Closed compound words

Closed compound words are formed when two unique words are joined together. They don’t have a space between them and they are the type that generally comes to mind when we think of compound words. For example:

Cannot

Fireworks

Elsewhere

Together

Crosswalk

Basketball

Football

Anybody

Skateboard

Everything

Schoolhouse

Fireflies

Inside

Baseball

Grandmother

Upside

Sunflower

Become

Moonlight

Railroad

Weatherman

Earthquake

Sometimes

Upstream

Grasshopper

Playthings

I love the fireworks on the fourth of July.
Make sure you hold hands when you come to the crosswalk.
The ocean was bathed in moonlight.
Did you hear amount the terrible earthquake?
The fireflies buzzed in the night sky.

2) Open compound words

Open compound words have a space between the words but when they are read together a new meaning is formed:

Ice cream

Cave in

Real estate

Full moon

Half sister

Grand jury

Post office

Middle class

Attorney general

Ice cream is my favorite dessert.
The line at the post office snaked all the way out the door and around the corner.
Rhonda is my half sister.
There must be a full moon out tonight.

3) Hyphenated compound words

Hyphenated compound words are connected by a hyphen. To avoid confusion, modifying compounds are often hyphenated, especially when they precede a noun such as in the case of part-time teacher, high-speed chase, and fifty-yard dash. When they come after the noun they are open compounds: a chase that is high speed, a teacher that is part time, etc. Comparative and superlative adjectives are hyphenated when they are compounded with other modifiers: the highest-priced computer, the lower-priced car. Adverbs that end in –ly and compounded with another modifier are not modified: a highly rated restaurant, a publicly held meeting.

Here are more examples of hyphenated compound words.

One-half

Eighty-six

Merry-go-round

Mass-produced

Daughter-in-law

Mother-in-law

One-third

Well-being

Over-the-counter

My mother-in-law is coming for a visit.
The merry-go-round at the carnival thrilled Ella.
Some over-the-counter drugs can have serious side effects.

If you’re concerned for your well-being make sure you eat healthy foods and get plenty of exercise.

It’s true the rules for compound words can be a bit ambiguous at times. The best thing to do when you have a question about a compound word is look it up. Often times you’ll find options with the preferred choice listed first. The bottom line is that the only way to know for sure how to spell compounds is to consult an authoritative source: a good dictionary.

Lists of compound words

	List 1	List 2
1	airport	Airplane
2	anymore	Airport
3	anyplace	Angelfish
4	anything	Antfarm
5	anywhere	Ballpark
6	armchair	Beachball
7	backache	Bikerack
8	background	Billboard
9	backpack	Blackhole
10	basketball	Blueberry
11	bathrobe	Boardwalk
12	bathtub	Bodyguard
13	battleship	Bookstore
14	bedroom	Bow Tie
15	beeline	Brainstorm
16	birthday	Busboy
17	blackboard	Cabdriver
18	bookcase	Candlestick
19	booklet	Car wash
20	bookshelf	Cartwheel
21	bookworm	Catfish
22	briefcase	Caveman
23	buttercup	Chocolate chip
24	butterfly	Crossbow
25	campfire	Daydream
26	campground	Deadend
27	candlestick	Doghouse
28	cardboard	Dragonfly
29	carpet	Dress shoes
30	chopstick	Dropdown
31	classmate	Earlobe
32	clockwise	Earthquake
33	courtyard	Eyeballs
34	cowboy	Father-in-law
35	cupboard	Fingernail
36	cutlet	Firecracker
37	daredevil	Firefighter
38	daydream	Firefly
39	dishwasher	Firework
40	dishwater	Fishbowl
41	doorbell	Fisherman
42	doormat	Fishhook
43	doorstep	Football
44	doorstop	Forget
45	doorway	Forgive
46	dragonfly	French fries
47	droplet	Goodnight
48	earache	Grandchild
49	earrings	Groundhog
50	evergreen	Hairband
51	everybody	Hamburger
52	everyday	Handcuff
53	eyeball	Handout
54	fingerprint	Handshake
55	firearm	Headband
56	firefighter	Herself
57	fireplace	High heels
58	fireproof	Honeydew
59	fireworks	Hopscotch
60	fishtail	Horseman
61	football	Horseplay
62	footprint	Hotdog
63	forecast	Ice cream
64	foresee	Itself
65	forget	Kickball
66	forgive	Kickboxing
67	fourfold	Laptop
68	friendship	Lifetime
69	gentleman	Lighthouse
70	goldfish	Mailman
71	goldfish	Midnight
72	grandfather	Milkshake
73	grandmother	Moonrocks
74	grandstand	Moonwalk
75	grasshopper	Mother-in-law
76	graveyard	Movie theater
77	greenhouse	Newborn
78	groundnut	Newsletter
79	hailstorm	Newspaper
80	hallway	Nightlight
81	handcuff	Nobody
82	headache	Northpole
83	headlight	Nosebleed
84	headmaster	Outer space
85	headmistress	Over-the-counter
86	heartbeat	Overestimate
87	heartbroken	Paycheck
88	highway	Policeman
89	homework	Ponytail
90	honeycomb	Post card
91	hookworm	Racquetball
92	horsefly	Railroad
93	houseboat	Rainbow
94	inside	Raincoat
95	jawbone	Raindrop
96	ladybug	Rattlesnake
97	landlady	Rockband
98	landlord	Rocketship
99	leadership	Rowboat
100	leaflet	Sailboat
101	lengthwise	Schoolbooks
102	lighthouse	Schoolwork
103	loudspeaker	Shoelace
104	masterpiece	Showoff
105	matchstick	Skateboard
106	meatball	Snowball
107	moonlight	Snowflake
108	myself	Softball
109	necktie	Solar system
110	newspaper	Soundproof
111	nobody	Spaceship
112	offhand	Spearmint
113	online	Starfish
114	otherwise	Starlight
115	outdoor	Stingray
116	outfield	Strawberry
117	outfit	Subway
118	outgrow	Sunglasses
119	outlaw	Sunroof
120	outlet	Supercharge
121	outnumber	Superman
122	outpatient	Superstar
123	outside	Tablespoon
124	overboard	Tailbone
125	overdose	Tailgate
126	overdue	Take down
127	pancake	Takeout
128	partnership	Taxpayer
129	penknife	Teacup
130	photocopy	Teammate
131	playground	Teaspoon
132	playroom	Tennis shoes
133	popcorn	Throwback
134	postman	Timekeeper
135	railway	Timeline
136	rainbow	Timeshare
137	raindrops	Tugboat
138	rattlesnake	Tupperware
139	ringworm	Underestimate
140	sandbags	Uplift
141	sandcastle	Upperclassman
142	sandpaper	Uptown
143	seafood	Video game
144	seashore	Wallflower
145	seaweed	Waterboy
146	shipwreck	Watermelon
147	shoestring	Wheelchair
148	shortbread	Without
149	skateboard	Workboots
150	skyscraper	Worksheet
151	snowboard
152	snowstorm
153	something
154	soundproof
155	spaceship
156	staircase
157	starlight
158	stomachache
159	strawberry
160	sunlight
161	sunshine
162	superhuman
163	superimpose
164	supernatural
165	surfboard
166	tailgate
167	teacup
168	teapot
169	thunderstorm
170	tightrope
171	timetable
172	tombstone
173	toolbox
174	toothbrush
175	understand
176	wallpaper
177	wardrobe
178	warship
179	watermelon
180	waterproof
181	weekend
182	wheelbarrow
183	wheelchair
184	woodcutter
185	woodland
186	woodpile
187	woodshed
188	woodwork
189	woodworm
190	yourself