compound word

"Compound word" is a grammar term that describes a specific type of word formation in English. It has one core meaning, but it shows up in a few different forms, so it's worth understanding clearly.

1nountwo words joined into one

A compound word is a word made by combining two or more smaller words together to create a brand new meaning. Think of it like a recipe — you take two ingredients and cook them into something new. For example, 'sun' + 'flower' = 'sunflower'. The new word often means something different from the two words on their own.

grammar, linguistics, education · Modern, widely used in language learning

The word 'toothbrush' is a compound word made from 'tooth' and 'brush'.

Students learned that 'football', 'bedroom', and 'notebook' are all compound words.

The teacher asked the class to find compound words hidden in the reading passage.

2nounopen and hyphenated forms

Not all compound words are written as one solid word. Some are written with a hyphen between the parts, like 'well-known' or 'self-control'. Others are written as two separate words but still act as one unit of meaning, like 'ice cream' or 'high school'. These are all still called compound words — the key is that the two parts work together to express one idea.

grammar, writing, linguistics · Modern, widely used

'Ice cream' is an open compound word — the two words are separate but mean one thing together.

The hyphenated word 'mother-in-law' is a compound word with three parts joined by hyphens.

Whether written as one word or two, 'fire station' and 'fireplace' are both compound words.