B

Baath party, Baathist
baby boom (noun)
baby-boom (adj.)
back-calculation procedure
backstop (noun and verb)
back up (verb)
* backup (noun and adj.)
backward (adj.)
backwards (adv.)
balance of payments (noun)
balance-of-payments (adj.)
balance sheet
bandwidth
baseline
base-period migrations, estimates
base-year (adj.)
Bedouin (singular and plural)
beforehand
behaviour  
benefited, benefiting
bi: compound forms are closed
biannual (twice a year)
biased
biennial (every second year)
biennium (plural: bienniums)
bio: compound forms are closed

birth control
birth rate
bis
blood-brain barrier
bond market
bookkeeping
bottleneck
brain drain
break down (verb)
breakdown (noun)
breakthrough
break up (verb)
break-up (noun)
bride wealth
bride price
Brigadier General
British thermal unit(s) (Btu)
build up (verb)
build-up (noun)
bureaux (plural)
burka
* burned (past tense and past participle)
buy-back (noun)
by-catch
by-law
by-product
bystander

C

calibre
cancelled, cancelling
cannot
canvas (cloth)
canvass (to solicit)
capacity-building (noun and adj.)
capital
Capitol (building)
caregiver
care provider
caretaker
CarLog
carte blanche
carry over (verb)
carry-over (noun)
case-by-case (adj.)
case-fatality rate
case law
caseload
case study
catalogue
catalyse
cathode ray tube
CD-ROM
ceasefire (noun and adj.)
Central Asia
Central Europe
centre, centred, centring
centrepiece
chador
changeover (noun)
channelled, channelling
chargé d'affaires (plural: chargés)
checklist
checkpoint
check-up (noun)
chef de cabinet
cheque (bank)
chequebook
childbearing
childbirth
childcare (noun and adj.)
child-rearing
child-spacing
chlorofluorocarbons
classroom
clearing house
closed-end (adj.)
clue (not clew, except in nautical sense)
co: most compound forms are   hyphenated; exceptions include:   coequal,   coexist, cofactor,   cogeneration, cohabit
cohort-component projections
cold war
colloquium (plural: colloquiums)
colour
combatant
combated, combating
common law (noun)
common-law (adj.)

communiqué
compel, compelled
compendium (plural: compendiums)
confidence-building (noun and adj.)
consensus
contingent-owned equipment (do not use   “COE”)
contraceptive-calendar method
contraceptive use-effectiveness,
  use-failure, use-interval, use-pattern
cooperate, cooperation
coordinate, coordination  
copy-edit
copy editor
cornerstone
corrigenda
cost accounting
cost-allocation method
cost-effective(ness)
cost-efficiency, cost-efficient
cost-of-living index
cost recovery (noun)
cost-recovery (adj.)
councillor
counsel (noun: singular and plural)
counselling, counsellor
counteract
counter-argument
counter-attack
* counterbalance (noun and verb)
counterclaim
counterclockwise
counterculture
counter-example
counter-insurgency
counter-intelligence
countermeasure
counterpoint
counterproductive
counter-revolution
** counter-terrorism
countertrade
counter-urbanization
countryside
countrywide
coup d'état (plural: coups d'état)
couple-years
co-worker
creditworthiness
cropland
cross-country
cross reference (noun)
cross-reference (verb)
cross-tabulation
curriculum vitae (plural: curricula vitae)
cut back (verb)
cutback (noun)
cut off (verb)
cut-off (noun and adj.)
cyber: compound forms are closed

D

databank
database
data collection (noun)
data-collection (adj.)
data processing (noun)
data-processing (adj.)
data set
date-heaping
day care (noun)
day-care (adj.)
* deadweight
death rate
decies or deciens
decision maker
decision-making (noun and adj.)
de-emphasize
de facto
defence (but United States Department
  of Defense, Israel Defense Forces)
deinstall
de jure
demagogy
démarche
demining (preferred: mine clearance)
demographic-economic model
dependant (noun)
dependent (adj.)
depositary (person or entity with whom a
  treaty is deposited)
depository (warehouse)
derestricted
desiccate
desktop

détente
diarrhoea
dieback (noun)
digitize
diktat
Director-General (but Director General
  of IAEA)
disc (but disk in computer technology)
discreet (prudent)
discrete (separate)
dispatch
donor dependence
donor-dependent
donor-funded
dot-com
doubling time
down payment
downstream
downward (adj. and adv.)
draft (text)
draught (air and animal)
draughtsman
drawdown (noun)
drift net (noun)
drift-net (adj.)
drinking water
drop out (verb)
dropout (noun)
drug-taking (noun and adj.)
drug trafficking
dry land (land as opposed to sea)
dryland(s) (type of ecosystem)
dwelling unit
dysfunction, dysfunctional

E

e: all compound forms are hyphenated
  (see also Style/Capitalization)
early-initiation countries
early-marriage pattern
early warning system
earmark
east(ern) (a geographical direction or an
  area within a country)
East(ern) (a major region, e.g. East
  Africa , Eastern Europe )
eastward
ecosystem
ecozone
** Eid al-Adha
** Eid al-Fitr
El Niño
** e-mail
embargo (plural: embargoes)
embarkation
émigré
emir
encyclopedia
endeavour
endogenization
end product
end result
end-user
energy-efficient
enquire, enquiry (referring to a request
  for information) (cf. inquire)

enrol, enrolled, enrolling, enrolment
en route
ensure
equalled, equalling
equipped, equipping
et al. (preferred: and others)
euro, euros (or use symbol: €2 million)
ever married (pred. adj.)
ever-married (attrib. adj.)
ever-used (adj.)
ever-user (noun)
every day (adv.)
everyday (adj.)
exaggerate
Excel
ex gratia
ex officio
exorbitant
expel, expelled, expelling
export-processing zones
exposé
ex post facto
extended use-effectiveness, use-failure
extrabudgetary
extra-curricular
extrajudicial
extralegal
extramarital
extraregional
extraterritorial
extra-uterine
eyewitness

F

fact-finding
fait accompli
fall-off (noun)
fall out (verb)
fallout (noun)
family-life (adj.)
family planning (noun and adj.)
farmland
far-reaching
favour
feedback
fibreglass
fibre-optic (adj.)
fibre optics (noun)
field trip
fieldwork, fieldworker
fine-tune
firearm  
first-hand (adj. and adv.)
fixed-period (adj.)
fixed-wing (adj.)
flak
flash flood
flavour
flow chart
flowsheet

focused, focusing
foetus
follow-through (noun)
follow-up (noun and adj.)
foodgrains
foodstuff
footnote
force majeure
forcible
foregoing (preceding)
forest lands
forever
foreword (to a book)
forgo (go without)
formulas (but formulae for mathematics)
forum (plural: forums)
free-choice marriage
freedom fighter
freelance
freshwater (noun and adj.)
front line (noun)
front-line (adj.)
fuelled, fuelling
fuelwood
fulfil, fulfilled, fulfilling, fulfilment
fund-raising

G

gauge
gender-neutral
gender-specific
girl child
good-neighbourly (adj.)  
* goodwill
gonorrhoea
grade-transition method
gram (g)
grant(s)-in-aid
grassland(s)

grass roots (noun)
grass-roots (adj.)
grey
groundwater (noun and adj.)
groundwork
Group of Eight (G-8)
Group of Seven (G-7)
Group of 77
guerrilla
guidelines
Gulf crisis, Gulf war
gunfire
gynaecology

H

haemoglobin
haemorrhage
hajj (not “the hajj pilgrimage”, which is
  redundant)
halfway
hand grenade
harbour
hawala
headwater
health care (noun)
health-care (adj.)
help desk
heretofore
high/low-mortality country, range or
  zone
high-mortality-risk groups
high-prevalence pattern
high-variant projection
historic (famous/important in history; e.g.
  a historic event)
historical (of/concerning history; e.g.
  historical evidence)

HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
HIV-positive
Hizbollah
home care (noun)
home-care (adj.)
home-made
homeowner(ship)
home page
homogeneous
honorarium (plural: honorariums)
honorary
honour
hostage-taking
Humvee
hydroelectric
hydro-interaction
hydropower
hydrosystem
hygiene
hyper: compound forms are closed,
  e.g. hyperinflation

I

ibid.
idem
imperilled
inasmuch as
income generation (noun)
income-generation (adj.)
in depth (adv.)
in-depth (adj.)
index (plurals: indexes (lists in a book),
  indices (statistical))
indirect failure-rate method
indispensable
infectivity (synonymous with
  infectiousness)
information and communication
  technology
infrared
in-house
initialled, initialling
in kind (adj. and adv.)
Inmarsat
in-migrant, in-migration
inpatient
inquire, inquiry (referring to a formal
  investigation) (cf. enquire)
in-session (adj.)
in situ
install, installation, instalment
instil
institution-building
insure (take out insurance)
interactive
inter-agency
inter alia
inter-American
inter-annual
inter-birth
intercensal-survival (adj.)
intercountry
intercultural
interdepartmental
interdependence

interdisciplinary
interdivisional
inter-ethnic
inter-fund
intergenerational
intergovernmental
inter-group
inter-industry
inter-institutional
interlink, interlinkage
intermediate-marriage pattern
inter-ministerial
inter-mission (between missions)
Internet
inter-office
inter-organizational
interprovincial
interracial
interregional
interrelate
intersectoral
intersessional
interspace
inter-State (between countries)
interstate (between States within a
  country)
inter-unit
intifada
in toto
intra-agency
intracountry
intradistrict
intrafamily
intra-industry
** Intranet
intraregional
intra-urban
intrauterine
in vitro
inward
ipso facto
Israel Defense Forces
IV drug users

J

jail
jihad, jihadi
Judaize

K

keffiyeh
Kevlar
kilogram(s) (kg)
kilometre(s) (km)
kilovolt-ampere(s) (kVA)

kilowatt(s) (kW)
kilowatt-hour(s) (kWh)
kin-groups
know-how
Koran

L

labelled, labelling
laborious
labour
labour-force (adj.)
labour-market (adj.)
laissez-faire
laissez-passer (singular and plural)
landholder
landlocked
landmine
landowner
land use (noun)
land-use (adj.)
laserdisc
late-initiation countries
late-marriage pattern
lawmaker
law-making
lay off (verb)
* layoff (noun)
lead time
learned (past tense and past participle)
least developed countries
letter of assist (do not use “LOA”)
leukaemia
levelled, levelling

liaison
licence (noun)
license (verb)
Lieutenant General
life cycle
life-history data
lifelong
lifespan
lifestyle
life table (noun)
life-table (adj.)
lifetime
litre
live birth
live-born
living space
loc. cit. (preceded by name of author)
log in, log on, log off, log out (verb)
login, logon, logoff, logout (noun)
long-standing (adj.)
long-term (adj.)
loophole
Lotus Notes
low-level (adj.)
lower age-limit
low-prevalence pattern
low-variant projections

M

machine gun
machine-readable
macro: compound forms are closed;
  exception: macro-unit
mainframe
mainland
Major General
man-hour
man-made
manoeuvre
man-portable air defence system (do not
  use "Manpad")
manpower
many-sided
marketplace
market town
mark up (verb)
* markup (noun)
marriage timing
marriage-timing pattern
marshalled, marshalling
master plan
materiel
matrices
meagre
meantime
meanwhile
medium-high/low
medium-sized (adj.) (e.g. small and
  medium-sized companies)
medium-variant (adj.)
meeting place
mega-city
megajoule(s) (MJ)
megavolt(s) (MV)
megavolt-ampere(s) (MVA)
member-days
memorandum (plural: memorandums)
meter (instrument)
metre(s) (m) (unit of length)
method-specific rates
micro: compound forms are closed;
  exceptions: micro-environment,
  micro-organism, micro-unit
mid-1990s, mid-2004

mid-air
midday
middle-high/low
middleman
midpoint
midstep
midterm
midway
midweek
midyear
mileage
millenniums
mine clearance (noun) (rather than
  demining)
mine-clearance (adj.)
minefield
minicomputer
minimize
misspelled
Mlle(s) (no period)
Mme(s) (no period)
modeled, modelling
modus operandi
money-laundering
moneylender, moneylending
money market
moneys
moratoriums
mores
mould
movable
** Mr.
** Mrs.
** Ms.
much-needed (adj.)
mujahideen (singular: mujahid)
multi: compound forms are closed, with
  the following exceptions: multi-access,
  multi-bilateral, multi-cause, multi-
  centred, multi-client, multi-country,
  multi-donor, multi-ethnic,
  multi-faith, multi-purpose,
  multi-skilled, multi-stakeholder,
  multi-storey, multi-user, multi-utility,
  multi-year
Muslim
mutatis mutandis

N

nationwide
neighbour
neonatal
nevertheless
never-use(r) (noun)
newborn
no-fly zone
no-man’s-land
non: compound forms are hyphenated;
  exceptions include nonconformist,
  nonfeasance

nonetheless
no one
north(ern), north-east(ern),
  north-west(ern) (a geographical
  direction or an area within a country)
North(ern) (a continent or
  major region, e.g. North America,
  North Africa, Northern Europe)
northward
note verbale (plural: notes verbales)
novies or noviens
nursing home (noun)
nursing-home (adj.)

O

octies or octiens
odour
oedema
oesophagus
offence
offensive
offhand
Official Document System
off season (noun)
off-season (adj. and adv.)
offset
offshore
off site (adv.)
off-site (adj.)
offspring (singular and plural)
oilfield
old age (noun)
old-age (adj.)
ombudsman (plural: ombudsmen)
ongoing

online
on-screen
on site (adv.)
on-site (adj.)
onward (adj.and adv.)
op. cit. (preceded by name of author)
organization
organization chart (not organigram or
  organizational chart)
organize
outmigrant, outmigration
out of date (pred. adj.)
out-of-date (attrib. adj.)
outpatient
outsource
over: most compound forms are closed;
  exceptions include over-abundant,
  over-represent
over age 5
own-financial base
own-revenue base

P

paediatric
paedophile
panellist
paralyse
paramedical
paramilitary
passer-by (plural: passers-by)
payback (noun)
* payday
payroll
* peacebuilder, peacebuilding
peacekeeper, peacekeeping
peacemaker, peacemaking
peacetime
per annum
per capita
per cent
per diem
perinatal
period-age time plan
period-cohort-age time plan
peri-urban
per se
place name
plebiscite
plough
policyholder
* policymaker, policymaking
post-cold-war
postgraduate
post-marital
post-mortem
post-natal
post-neonatal
post-partum
post-session
post-war
Power (the administering/occupying
  Power)

power plant
* powersharing
practice (noun)
practise (verb)
pre-adolescent
précis
preconceive
precondition
pre-date
predeployment
pre-empt
pre-initiation countries
pre-inspection
pre-investment
premarital
pre-modern
prenatal
pre-position
pre-qualified, pre-register
* preschool
pre-screened
pre-session
pretence
pre-war
prima facie
principal (first in rank) (noun and adj.)
principle (fundamental truth) (noun)
printout
procès-verbal (plural: procès-verbaux)
pro-choice
program (computing only)
programme
pronatalism, pronatalist
* proofread, proofreader
pro rata
prorate
psycho: compound forms are closed
public-health (adj.)

Q

quater
quinquies or quinquiens

R

radioactive
radioisotope
rain-fed
rainforest
rainwater (noun)
raison d'être
range area
rangeland(s)
rapprochement
rateable
ratepayer
reactivate
readmit
reaffirm
realize
reallocate
reappoint
rearrange
reauthorize
recost
redeploy
re-elect
re-emphasize
re-employ
re-establish
re-evaluate
re-examine
referendums
refinance
reflection
refoulement

regime
region-wide
reinforce
reissue
reorganize
reorient
re-route
résumé
reutilize
reverse-order solution
reverse-survival rates
reversible
right to life (noun)
right-to-life (adj.)
rigorous
rigour
riverbed
river water (noun)
roadblock
road map
roll-call
rollover (noun)
** roman numeral
round table (noun)
round-table (adj.)
routing
RU486
rumour
rural-urban (demographic
  movement)
rural/urban (comparison)

S

safe-period method
salary earner
saleable
salt water (noun)
saltwater (adj.)
satphone
savings bank
sceptic, sceptical, scepticism
school-age (adj.)
schoolchild
schoolteacher
seabed
sea floor
sea level
seaport
* seawater (noun)
** Secretary-General (plural: Secretaries-
  General)
sectoral
self: compound forms are hyphenated
semi-annual
semicircle
semi-skilled
septies or septiens
seroprevalence
setback (noun)
set-up (noun)
sewage (waste matter)
sewerage (system of drains)
sexies or sexiens
sex-selective
sexual-activity data/group/table
sexual-orientation group
shanty town
* sharia
sheikh
shellfire
* Shia
* Shiite
shortcoming
shortfall
shortlist (noun and verb)
short-lived
side effect
sine qua non
sizeable
size class
skilful
slow down (verb)
slowdown (noun)
slum-dweller
sociocultural
sociodemographic
socio-economic
socio-medical
sombre
south(ern), south-east(ern), south-
  west(ern) (a geographical direction or
  an area within a country)
South(ern), South-East(ern), South-
  West(ern) (a continent or major region,
  e.g. South America , Southern Africa ,
  Southern Europe , South-East Asia ;
   exception: Association of Southeast
   Asian Nations)
South-South cooperation
southward

spatial-profile models
special drawing rights (SDR 145 billion)
specialize
spelled
spillover (noun and adj.)
stable-population (adj.)
staff member
stakeholder
standby (noun and adj.)
stand-alone
stationary (not moving)
stationery (paper)
status-conscious
status-of-forces agreement (do not use
  “SOFA”)
status quo
steady-state equation
stillbirth
stillborn (adj.)
stock market
stockpile
stocktaking
storey (building)
straightforward
sub-account
sub-amendment
subarctic
sub-area
sub-block
sub-branch
sub-centre
subcommission
subcommittee
subdistrict
sub-entry
subfecundity
sub-folder
* subheading
sub-issue
sub-item
subject matter
sub lieutenant
sub-machine gun
subnational
sub-office
subparagraph
subpopulation
subprogram (computing only)
subprogramme
subregion
sub-Saharan
subsection
subsector
* substandard
subtitle
subtotal
** sub-unit
succour
summarize
Sunna (traditional Muslim law)
Sunni (adj. and noun, singular and plural)
** super-Power
supersede
superstructure
supervisor
surface water (noun)
surface-water (adj.)
suspense account
symposium (plural: symposiums)

T

takeover (noun)
Taliban
targeted, targeting
tariff
taxpayer
ter
test-ban (adj.)
therefor (for that purpose)
therefore (consequently)
** third-party (adj.)
time-consuming
time deposit
time frame
time-horizon
time lag
time limit
time line
time period
timescale
time series
* timespan
timetable
title page
ton
topsoil

totalled, totalling
towards
toxaemia
tradable
trade-off (noun)
traffics, trafficked, trafficking
training-ground
transatlantic
transboundary
transferable, transference
transferred, transferring
trans-ship
travelled, travelling
tripwire
troop contributor
troop-contributing
tsunami (plural: tsunamis)
tunnelled, tunnelling
turning point
turnkey (adj.)
turnover
turnaround (noun) (but turnround of
  refugees or migrants)
two-faced
twofold
typesetting
tyre

U

ultra: compound forms are closed,
  except: ultra-high frequency (noun),
  ultra-high-frequency (adj.)
** underreport,
** underrepresent
Under-Secretary-General
under age 5
under-five mortality
under way
uni: compound forms are closed
unmistakable
update
upgrade
upper age-limit
uproot

up-to-date (attrib. adj.)
up to date (pred. adj.)
upward (adj. and adv.)
urban-dweller
urban-rural (demographic movement)
urban/rural (comparison)
usability
usable
use-effectiveness
use failure
use-failure rate
user-friendly
utilize
Uzi

V

vacuum aspiration (do not use the term
  “vacuum extraction”)
vacuum aspiration method
value added (noun and adj.)
value system
versus
via
vice-chairman
vice-president

vice versa
video camera
video cassette
videoconference
videodisc
videotape (noun and verb)
viewpoint
vigour
vis-à-vis

W

wage earner
wage-earning (adj.)
wagon
warlike
warplane
wartime
* wastewater
* waterborne
watercourse
water level
watershed
water supply
* water table
waterway
Web (World Wide Web)
webcast
webmaster
web page (noun)
web-page (adj.)
* website
weekday
weekend
well: compound adjectives are hyphenated   only when used attributively (e.g. a
  well-designed project; the project is well
  designed)
well-being

well water (noun)
west(ern) (a geographical direction or an
  area within a country)
West(ern) (a major region, e.g. West
    Africa , Western Europe )
westward
wetland(s)
wholehearted
wilful
withhold
woman-month
woman-year
word-process
word-processing
word processor
workflow
workforce
work-hour
working hours
workload
work permit
workplace
* workplan
worldwide
worthwhile
write off (verb)
write-off (noun)

X

X-ray