The Complete Guide to Compound Words: Definition and Types

In this blog, we will read about meaning of compound words, its different types, list of compound words, and rules to pluralize.

Compound words | Global Assignment Help Australia
22 Jan 2025 14 11 minutes

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The English language has a variety of words that denote a single concept and those words are called compound words. Compound words are made by connecting two or more words. These words are commonly used in day-to-day communication. However, it can be challenging to know when to use these words and how they are differentiated.  So, to learn how to use these words, read this write-up, which will cover the definition of compound words, different types, and the list of compound words. So, let's begin without wasting a second.

What Is a Compound Word? 

As you read above, compound words are made by joining two or more words together. These words can be used in primary types of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. However, compound words have different meanings from the words they are made of. For instance, the word step-father is made from the individual word step and father. However, the fundamental definition of the words step and father is different. In English, there are three types of compound words, and each type has diverse characteristics. So, let's move on and discuss the distinct types of these words.

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Types Of Compound Words

There are three different types of compound words in English:

Open Compound Words: Spaces between the words. For example: Ice cream

Closed Compound Words: There is no space between words. For example, Firefighter  

Hyphenated Words: In this type, you use a hyphen between the words. For example, step-by-step

Open Compound Words

  • Open words have spaces in between words.
  • It is challenging to identify this type of compound word because of the spaces in between.  
  • Both the words always appear with each other, but each has a different meaning rem
  • Although both words have different, meanings, they act like single words.

Pro tip: These words are common nouns, so if you want to pluralize them, you should always pluralize the final word in the duo.

For example: I bought 2 Ices creams for you. X

I bought 2 ice creams for you. ✓

Phrasal Verb Uses: Using these words in verbs has some distinct rules. Generally, you conjugate only one word of the group, while others are untouched.

For example, He founded out too late. ✗

He found out too late ✓

In some cases, you have to hyphenate an open compound word if used as a different type of speech.

Closed Compound Words

  • Closed compound words have no space between the joined words
  • They act and look like individual words because of no space between them.
  • Closed compound words are used in every part of speech.
  • It is easy to pluralize words because you only have to pluralize in the end.

For example, Sometimes, everyone, desktop, and more.

Some adverbs like sometimes or everywhere are closed compound words, and prepositions like inside, outside, and without are also closed compound words.

Hyphenated Compound Words

As you can guess from the name, these words have a hyphen between the words they include.

The rule to pluralize hyphenated words is different from open compound words.

In hyphenated words, you always do not pluralize the final words. For instance, father-in-law is the word you have to pluralize, so you will pluralize the first word. Thus, it will be the fathers-in-law.

However, there can be exceptions in some cases, so you have to study the rules of pluralizing compound words.

Difference Between Compound Words Vs Another Types Of Words

There are many ways to join a word apart from just using compounding. So, it can be confusing to identify a compound word from these other types of joined words. However, do not worry! In this section, we are going to discuss how compound words differ from the other types of joined words :

Portmanteaus

Contractions

Acronyms

Portmanteaus

It is also called blending of words, it is done by blending two words. It is different from compound words because at least one of the words used to make it is not used in its complete form: some are letters removed from the word, or their position is changed.

For instance, Smoke+Fog=Smog

Contractions

Contraction means shortening of existing words. In contraction, the excluded letters are usually marked by an apostrophe. In some cases, a single word with some letters is contracted, but commonly, two or more words are combined. For instance, It's time to leave, let's go!

Acronyms

The acronym is a way to shorten a series of words into one unit. You make a short form of a long word by reducing each word to its first letter.

For instance, the WHO (World Health Organization)

excellence boy

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List of Compound Words

In the below list, we will see different compound words from all three distinct types. So, let's begin:

Open Compound Words

Closed Compound Words

Hyphenated Compound Words

black eye

heart attack

prime minister

slam dunk

cell phone

high school

real estate

sleeping bag

close call

hot dog

remote control

time capsule

common sense

ice cream

report card

vacuum cleaner

cotton candy

life jacket

rib cage

vending machine

dining room

living room

role model

video game

first aid

no one

roller coaster

waiting room

full moon

peanut butter

salad dressing

washing machine

French fry

post office

search engine

web page

black eye

heart attack

prime minister

slam dunk

cell phone

high school

real estate

sleeping bag

close call

hot dog

remote control

time capsule

common sense

ice cream

report card

vacuum cleaner

basketball

forever

none

toothbrush

bathroom

football

nonetheless

turntable

bedroom

gentleman

notebook

undercover

blackberry

grapefruit

nowhere

upstream

blueberry

granddaughter

outside

waterfall

breakfast

grandfather

payday

watermelon

cannot

grandmother

rainbow

weekend

checkout

grasshopper

 raincoat

within

cowboy

handshake

skateboard

without

daylight

headquarters

smartphone

zookeeper

anybody

desktop

inside

snowball

anything

everything

keyboard

somebody

anywhere

everywhere

lipstick

someone

editor-in-chief

life-size one-sided

toss-up

empty-handed

long-distance

over-the-counter

two-dimensional

eye-opener

long-term

part-time

up-to-date

far-fetched

merry-go-round

runner-up

well-being

father-in-law

mind-blowing

run-in

word-of-mouth

free-for-all

mother-in-law

sister-in-law

world-class

check-in

know-how

nitty-gritty

strong-arm

clean-cut

know-it-all

one-dimensional

topsy-turvy

editor-in-chief

life-size

one-sided

toss-up

empty-handed

long-distance

over-the-counter

two-dimensional

So, the above list of 100+ compound words consists of all three types of compound words. Hopefully, by the above-defined characteristics, you have understood when to use the right words and how to pluralize them. However, if you still have any issues, you can seek online assignment help from experts.

Pluralizing Compound Words 

Pluralizing a noun that is made up of multiple words can be a challenging task. Thus, here are a few rules that you can use:

Closed Compound Words: In this type of compound word, it is easier to pluralize because you always have to pluralize the end word. For example, backpacks, desktops

Open and Hyphenated Compound Words: In both types, the rule varies according to the situation. Sometimes, the final word is pluralized ( e.g., mothers-in-law, attorneys general). In some cases, the last word is pluralized (e.g., merry-go-rounds). Thus, to figure out which word to pluralize, you will have to figure out by looking at the compound. However, we understand that it can be challenging to apply this logic in every situation. So, if in doubt, you can always seek help from our experts at Global Assignment Help Australia. Wondering how? Read the next section for a clear understanding.

Seek Guidance From The Experts for Academic Excellence

So, this was your go-to guide for understanding the meaning of compound words, their types, and a list of compound words. However, if you still have any doubts related to compound words, no need to worry! We have assignment experts who can guide you with any academic write-up. Moreover, we have academic assistance tools such as free grammar checker, plagiarism, and more to ensure quality documents. Apart from these tools, we also guarantee academic perks such as:

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With our 24/7 customer assistance, you can reach us at any hour with queries related to any educational task. Thus, contact us now and get help from the best assignment experts in Australia.

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