Compound words

A compound word joins two words to make a new meaning.

Rain and bow become rainbow.

Tooth and brush become toothbrush.

The new word is not just the two old meanings side by side.

Some compounds are closed, written as one word. Some stay open, as two words. Some use a hyphen.

3 Types	How they are written	Examples	Explanation
Closed Compound Words	Written as one word	notebook, toothbrush, rainbow	Two words joined with no space
Open Compound Words	Written as two separate words	ice cream, post office, living room	Two words used together but written separately
Hyphenated Compound Words	Joined with a hyphen (-)	mother-in-law, well-known, six-year-old	Used when the words are closely connected

1. Closed Compound Words (Written as One Word)

Common type
No.	Compound Word	Made From	Example Sentence
1	notebook	note + book	I wrote my homework in my notebook.
2	toothbrush	tooth + brush	I use a toothbrush to clean my teeth.
3	rainbow	rain + bow	We saw a beautiful rainbow after the rain.
4	sunflower	sun + flower	The sunflower grew very tall in the garden.
5	football	foot + ball	The boys played football after school.
6	butterfly	butter + fly	A pretty butterfly landed on the flower.
7	bedroom	bed + room	I sleep in my bedroom.
8	classroom	class + room	Our classroom is bright and clean.
9	homework	home + work	I finished my homework before dinner.
10	breakfast	break + fast	We eat breakfast every morning.
11	afternoon	after + noon	We have lunch in the afternoon.
12	weekend	week + end	We usually go out during the weekend.
13	birthday	birth + day	Today is my birthday.
14	skateboard	skate + board	He rides his skateboard in the park.
15	handbag	hand + bag	My mother carries a handbag.
16	bookshelf	book + shelf	I put my books on the bookshelf.
17	hairbrush	hair + brush	She uses a hairbrush to comb her hair.
18	sunglasses	sun + glasses	I wear sunglasses when it is sunny.
19	newspaper	news + paper	My father reads the newspaper every morning.
20	playground	play + ground	The children are playing in the playground.
21	flashlight	flash + light	We used a flashlight when the lights went out.
22	toothpaste	tooth + paste	I squeeze toothpaste onto my toothbrush.
23	fireman	fire + man	The fireman helped put out the fire.
24	policeman	police + man	The policeman helped us cross the road.
25	postman	post + man	The postman delivered a letter today.
26	fisherman	fish + man	The fisherman caught many fish.
27	snowman	snow + man	We built a snowman during winter.
28	handbag	hand + bag	She put her phone inside her handbag.
29	armchair	arm + chair	My grandfather sits in the armchair.
30	tablecloth	table + cloth	We spread a tablecloth on the dining table.
31	bookshelf	book + shelf	All my storybooks are on the bookshelf.
32	bathroom	bath + room	I brush my teeth in the bathroom.
33	kitchen	kitchen (single word)	My mother is cooking in the kitchen.
34	livingroom	living + room	We watch TV in the living room.
35	diningroom	dining + room	We eat dinner in the dining room.
36	bedroom	bed + room	I have my own bedroom.
37	classroom	class + room	Our classroom has many posters on the wall.
38	blackboard	black + board	The teacher wrote on the blackboard.
39	whiteboard	white + board	Our school uses a whiteboard now.
40	timetable	time + table	I checked the timetable for my classes.

2. Open Compound Words (Written as Two Words)

No.	Compound Word	Made From	Example Sentence
41	ice cream	ice + cream	I love eating ice cream on hot days.
42	post office	post + office	My mother went to the post office.
43	living room	living + room	We watched a movie in the living room.
44	dining table	dining + table	We eat dinner at the dining table.
45	bus stop	bus + stop	I waited at the bus stop.
46	swimming pool	swimming + pool	The children played in the swimming pool.
47	fire station	fire + station	The fire engine came from the fire station.
48	shopping centre	shopping + centre	We went to the shopping centre on Saturday.
49	birthday cake	birthday + cake	My mother baked a big birthday cake.
50	high school	high + school	My brother studies in high school.
51	primary school	primary + school	I study in primary school.
52	police station	police + station	They went to the police station to report the theft.
53	railway station	railway + station	We arrived at the railway station early.
54	airport terminal	airport + terminal	We waited at the airport terminal.
55	coffee shop	coffee + shop	We had lunch at a coffee shop.
56	fast food	fast + food	We sometimes eat fast food on weekends.
57	school bag	school + bag	I carry my books in my school bag.
58	water bottle	water + bottle	I always bring a water bottle to school.
59	pencil case	pencil + case	I keep my stationery in my pencil case.
60	story book	story + book	My favourite story book is about a dragon.

3. Hyphenated Compound Words

No.	Compound Word	Made From	Example Sentence
61	mother-in-law	mother + in + law	My mother-in-law came to visit us.
62	father-in-law	father + in + law	My father-in-law is very kind.
63	brother-in-law	brother + in + law	My brother-in-law plays football well.
64	sister-in-law	sister + in + law	My sister-in-law is a teacher.
65	well-known	well + known	He is a well-known singer in Singapore.
66	six-year-old	six + year + old	The six-year-old boy won the spelling bee.
67	part-time	part + time	My aunt has a part-time job.
68	full-time	full + time	My father has a full-time job.
69	one-way	one + way	This is a one-way street.
70	self-control	self + control	He showed good self-control during the game.
71	long-term	long + term	They made a long-term plan for the business.
72	check-in	check + in	We did our check-in at the airport.
73	take-off	take + off	The plane’s take-off was smooth.
74	grown-up	grown + up	Only grown-ups are allowed to enter.
75	merry-go-round	merry + go + round	The children enjoyed riding the merry-go-round.
76	mother-of-pearl	mother + of + pearl	The box was decorated with mother-of-pearl.
77	good-looking	good + looking	He is a good-looking boy.
78	hard-working	hard + working	She is a hard-working student.
79	left-handed	left + handed	My brother is left-handed.
80	right-handed	right + handed	Most people are right-handed.

4. More Common Compound Words (81–100)

No.	Compound Word	Made From	Example Sentence
81	toothpaste	tooth + paste	I use toothpaste every morning.
82	hairdryer	hair + dryer	My mother uses a hairdryer after washing her hair.
83	washing machine	washing + machine	We put our clothes in the washing machine.
84	air conditioner	air + conditioner	We turned on the air conditioner because it was hot.
85	credit card	credit + card	My father paid with his credit card.
86	mobile phone	mobile + phone	I use my mobile phone to call my mother.
87	computer game	computer + game	My brother likes playing computer games.
88	storybook	story + book	I read a storybook before sleeping.
89	pencil sharpener	pencil + sharpener	I need a pencil sharpener for my new pencils.
90	rubber band	rubber + band	I tied the papers with a rubber band.
91	paper clip	paper + clip	I used a paper clip to hold the documents.
92	water tap	water + tap	Please turn off the water tap after use.
93	light bulb	light + bulb	The light bulb in my room is not working.
94	door handle	door + handle	The door handle is broken.
95	window pane	window + pane	The window pane was cracked.
96	school uniform	school + uniform	I wear my school uniform every day.
97	sports shoes	sports + shoes	I bought a new pair of sports shoes.
98	swimming costume	swimming + costume	She wore her swimming costume to the pool.
99	story time	story + time	We have story time every Friday in class.
100	lunch box	lunch + box	I carry my food in a lunch box.

Compound words

1. Closed Compound Words (Written as One Word)

2. Open Compound Words (Written as Two Words)

3. Hyphenated Compound Words

4. More Common Compound Words (81–100)

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