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Renato
Manmade and man-made
What is the difference between manmade and man-made? Does the word "manmade" use a hyphen?
Jul 24, 2019 1:23 PM
Answers · 5
4
Hi Renato.
There’s no difference in meaning for manmade and man-made. Some words like this is English start with a hyphen and then, over time, lose the hyphen because of the frequent use. Either spelling is correct.
Hope that helps!
July 24, 2019
1
Miss Palmer is exactly right.
I would add that when native speakers have a question like this, we use a dictionary. In fact, you will find that the more a person knows about English, the more they use a dictionary. A no-cost online dictionary is fine.
US and UK speakers speak the same language, but there are slight difference in usage--just like the difference between Brazilian and peninsular Portuguese--so use whichever is appropriate.
A US dictionary, https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=manmade
show us "manmade or man-made." Since both are listed, both are OK. Since "manmade" is listed first, it's more common.
However, I see that a British dictionary only lists "man-made." Apparently the British are a little more conservative and old-fashioned than US speakers, and they are continuing to use the hyphen longer than we are.
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/man-made
July 24, 2019
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Renato
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
Learning Language
English, Spanish
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