United Nations Editorial Manual Online

Spelling

The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, twelfth edition, is the current authority for spelling in the United Nations. If more than one spelling is given in the dictionary, use the form listed first unless otherwise indicated below. The online Oxford Dictionary (https://premium.oxforddictionaries. com/english/) (set to British and World English) is an acceptable alternative.

The United Nations spelling list is designed to serve as a quick reference for common words and compounds for which there may be more than one possible spelling. Some words commonly used in United Nations documents that are not in the twelfth edition of the dictionary are included in the list for ease of reference. For further guidance, see also Abbreviations and acronyms and Capitalization in English.

Foreign words listed in the twelfth edition or included in the list below are not italicized in United Nations documents. Foreign words that are not listed in that edition or included in the list, however, are italicized.

Non-English names of organizations, firms, ministries and the like are not italicized.

Fractions expressed in words are not hyphenated (e.g. one third of the total) unless they are used as adjectives (e.g. one-third share).

The abbreviation “adj.” is used to indicate compound adjectives that are hyphenated when they precede a noun (e.g. She had a fixed-term contract). Otherwise they are normally not hyphenated (e.g. The contract was for a fixed term).

Compound adjectives in which the first word ends in –ly are not hyphenated (e.g. environmentally sustainable growth).

Notes: * Indicates a change from previous practice. ** Indicates an exception to the twelfth edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary. *** Indicates both a change from previous practice and an exception to the twelfth edition.

United Nations Editorial Manual Online © 2004–2020 (New York). Mention of the names of firms and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. Last updated on 11 March 2021.

1 A airdrop airfare airfield above-mentioned airfreight abridgement airlift acknowledgement air raid addenda airspace ad hoc air strike ad infinitum air traffic control ad litem AK-47 adviser allot, allotted, allotment aeroplane Al-Qaida aesthetic aluminium aforementioned among (not “amongst”) Afrodescendant (noun) (preferred: person anaemia of African descent) anaesthetic Afrodescendent (adj.) (preferred: of African analogue (but analog in computer descent) technology) after: compound forms are closed except: analyse after-effect antenatal after-image antennae (insects) age-appropriate (adj.) antennas (aerials) ageing anti-abortion ageism anti-aircraft age-selective (adj.) antifertility age-specific (adj.) anti-inflammatory agribusiness antimalarial agrifood antimicrobial agriscience anti-money-laundering (adj.; not to be used agritourism as a noun) agroecological antinatalism, antinatalist agroecosystem anti-poverty agroforestry **antisemitism agro-industry apartheid agropastoral a posteriori agroprocessing appal, appalled, appalling agroterrorism appendices aides-memoires a priori AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency armoury syndrome) artefact airbag Assistant Secretary-General (plural: air conditioner, air conditioning (noun) Assistant Secretaries-General) air-conditioned, air-conditioning (adj.) *asylum seeker aircraft (singular and plural) asylum-seeking (adj.) aircrew attaché

2 attorney general birth rate audiobook bis *audiovisual bitcoin auditor general BlackBerry avant-garde blacklist (verb and noun) awareness-raising (noun and adj.) blockchain ayatollah blood-borne blood-brain barrier B bond market bookkeeping bottleneck Baath party, Baathist brain drain baby boom (noun) break away (verb) baby-boom (adj.) breakaway (noun and adj.) back-calculation procedure break down (verb) backstop (verb and noun) breakdown (noun) back up (verb) breakthrough backup (noun and adj.) break up (verb) backward (adj.) break-up (noun) backwards (adv.) breastfeed balance of payments (noun) bride price balance-of-payments (adj.) bride wealth balance sheet Brigadier General bandwidth broad band, broad banding (verb and noun, baseline in ICSC documents) base-year (adj.) broad-banded, broad-banding (adj., in ICSC bednet documents) Bedouin (singular and plural) broadband (telecommunications) beforehand build up (verb) behaviour build-up (noun) behove bureaux benefited, benefiting burka benefit-sharing burned (not “burnt”) bi: compound forms are closed (see also businessperson “Ambiguous terms” under Numbers, buy-back (noun) dates and time): buy-in (noun) biannual (twice a year) by-catch biennial (every second year) by-law **bienniums by-product bimonthly (every two months) bystander biweekly (every two weeks) biased C bio: compound forms are closed biocoenosis birth control calibre

3 cancelled, cancelling childbirth canvas (cloth) childcare canvass (to solicit) child-rearing capacity-building (noun and adj.) child-sensitive capital (city, money) child spacing Capitol (building) chlorofluorocarbons caregiver classroom care provider clearing house (n); clearing-house (adj.) caretaker closed-end (adj.) CarLog co-chair carry over (verb) coequal carry-over (noun) coexist carte blanche cofactor case-by-case (adj.) cogeneration case-fatality rate cohort-component projections case law cold war caseload co-locate case study colloquiums cash flow (noun) colour cash-flow (adj.) combatant catalogue combated, combating catalyse Commissioner-General cathode ray tube common law (noun) CD-ROM common-law (adj.) ceasefire (noun and adj.) communiqué cellmate comorbidity cell phone compel, compelled cellular phone compendiums centre, centred, centring confidence-building (noun and adj.) centrepiece connection chador consensus Chair-designate **consortiums changeover (noun) contingent-owned equipment channelled, channelling contraceptive-calendar method charge-back cookstove chargé d’affaires (singular invariable; cooperate, cooperation plural: chargés d’affaires) coordinate, coordination chat room co-payment checklist copy-edit checkpoint copy editor check-up (noun) cornerstone chef de cabinet (plural: chefs de cabinet) corrigenda cheque (bank) cost accounting chequebook cost-effective childbearing cost-efficient

4 cost-of-living index cross-sectoral cost recovery (noun) cross-tabulation cost-recovery (adj.) crowdsourced, crowdsourcing councillor crowdwork, crowdworker, crowdworking counsel (verb and noun, singular and plural) crypto: compound forms are closed counselling, counsellor curricula counteract curriculum vitae (plural: curricula vitae) *counterargument cut back (verb) counter-attack cutback (noun) counterbalance cut off (verb) countercharge cut-off (noun and adj.) counterclaim cyber: compound forms are closed counterclockwise counterculture D countercyclical counterdemonstration darknet counter-espionage databank counter-example database counter-guarantee data-collection (adj.) counter-insurgency data processing (noun) counter-intelligence data-processing (adj.) counter-intuitive data processor countermeasure data set counter-narcotics day care (noun) counteroffensive day-care (adj.) counterpoint *dead weight counterproductive **deafblind counterproliferation death rate counterproposal decies or deciens counter-revolution decision maker **counter-terrorism decision-making (noun and adj.) countertrade de-emphasize counter-urbanization de facto countryside defence (but United States Department of countrywide Defense, Israel Defense Forces) coup d'état (plural: coups d'état) de jure couple-years delink co-worker *delist creditworthiness demagogy cropland démarche cross-country demining cross-cutting demographic-economic model cross-reference (verb) dependant (noun) cross reference (noun) dependent (adj.) cross section

5 depositary (person or entity with which a **dunum treaty is deposited) dwelling unit depository (warehouse) dysfunctional derestricted desiccate desktop détente diarrhoea dieback (noun) digitize diktat *Director General (plural: Directors General) (but Director-General of the United Nations Offices at Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi) disc (but disk in computer technology) discreet (prudent) discrete (separate) dispatch donor dependence donor-dependent (adj.) donor-funded (adj.) dot-com dot-org doubling time down payment downstream downward (adj. and adv.) draft (text) draught (air and animal) draw down (verb) drawdown (noun) drift net (noun) drift-net (adj.) drinking water drop out (verb) dropout (noun and adj.) drug dealer drug dealing drug-taking drug trafficking drug user drug-using (adj.) dry land (land as opposed to sea) dryland(s) (type of ecosystem)

6 E enterprise resource planning (not hyphenated) equalled, equalling e-: compound forms are hyphenated, equipped, equipping except: euro, euros *email Eurobond and where the second element begins with a *eurozone capital letter: ever-married (adj.) eDoc everyday (adj.) eLUNa every day (adv.) eMeets exaggerate ePAS Excel eRef ex gratia early-initiation (adj.) ex officio early warning system exorbitant earmark expel, expelled, expelling east(ern) (a geographical direction or an export-processing zone area within a country) exposé East(ern) (a major region, e.g. East Africa, ex post facto Eastern Europe) extrabudgetary east-north-east, east-south-east ***extracurricular eastward extrajudicial eco-friendly extralegal eco-label, eco-labelling extramarital ecosystem extranet ecotourism extraregional eco-warrior extraterritorial ecozone *extrauterine **Eid al-Adha eyewitness **Eid al-Fitr *email F embargoes

émigré fact-finding emir fait accompli encyclopedia fall-off (noun) endeavour fall out (verb) endogenization fallout (noun) end product family-life (adj.) end result family planning (noun and adj.) *end user farmland energy-efficient far-reaching enquire, enquiry (referring to a request for favour information) (cf. inquire) feedback enrol, enrolled, enrolling, enrolment *fetus, fetal en route

7 fibreglass free trade (noun and adj.) fibre-optic (adj.) *fresh water (noun) fibre optics (noun) freshwater (adj.) field trip front line (noun) fieldwork, fieldworker front-line (adj.) fine-tune fuelled, fuelling firearm fuelwood firebomb fulfil, fulfilled, fulfilling, fulfilment fire-control (adj.) full-time fire engine fundraiser firefight *fundraising firefighter firefighting G firehouse first-hand (adj. and adv.) gauge fixed-period (adj.) gData fixed-wing (adj.) gDoc flak gender-diverse flash flood gender-neutral flavour gender-specific flexitime (generic) geo: compound forms are closed Flextime (attendance system) girl child flow chart globalization flowsheet globalize focused, focuses, focusing gMeets follow through (verb) good-neighbourly (adj.) follow-through (noun) goodwill follow up (verb) gonorrhoea follow-up (noun and adj.) gram foodgrain grant-in-aid (plural: grants-in-aid) food-insecure grassland(s) foodstuff grass roots (noun) footnote grass-roots (adj.) force majeure grey forcible grounds pass foregoing (preceding) groundwater forest lands groundwork forever gText foreword (to a book) guerrilla forgo (go without) guidelines formulas (but “formulae” in mathematics) gunfire forums gynaecology forward (verb, adj. and adv.) freedom fighter freelance, freelancer

8 H hydropower hydrosystem

hygiene haemoglobin hyper: compound forms are closed haemorrhage hajj (note: “hajj pilgrimage” is redundant) halfway I hand grenade handheld Ibero-American Haram al-Sharif ibid. (see also Footnotes and other harbour references) hard-walled (adj.) ill: compound adjectives are hyphenated hardwired only when preceding a noun (e.g. an hashtag ill-designed project; the project is hawala ill designed) headwater ill-treatment health care (noun) imperilled health-care (adj.) inasmuch as help desk income generation (noun) helpline income-generation (adj.) heretofore in-depth (adj.) herpesvirus indexes (lists in a book), indices (statistical) high-mortality-risk (adj.) indispensable HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) information and communications HIV-positive technology Hizbullah information-sharing home care (noun) infrared home-care (adj.) in-house home-made initialled, initialling homeowner in-kind (adj.) homeownership in-migration home page inpatient homeschool inquire, inquiry (referring to a formal homogeneous investigation) (cf. enquire) honorariums in-session (adj.) honorary in situ honour insofar hostage-taking insourcing hot-desking install, installation, instalment hotelling instil hotspot institution-building human resources (not hyphenated) interactive Humvee inter-agency hydroelectric inter alia hydro-interaction inter-American

9 inter-annual intra-State (within a country) interbank intra-urban inter-birth in vitro intercommunal inward (adj.) intercountry inwards (adv.) intercultural ipso facto interdenominational iSeek interdepartmental IV drug user interdependence interdisciplinary J interdivisional inter-ethnic jail interfaith jihad, jihadi interfamily Judaize intergenerational *judgment (see also Capitalization in intergovernmental English) *intergroup *judgmental inter-industry jump-start inter-institutional interlink, interlinkage *interministerial K inter-mission (between missions) intermission (between acts) keffiyeh Internet kick-start inter-office kilogram (kg) inter-organizational kilometre (km) interparliamentary kilovolt-ampere (kVA) interprovincial kilowatt (kW) interracial kilowatt-hour (kWh) interregional *kin group interrelate know-how interreligious knowledge-sharing intersectoral intersession (noun), intersessional L interspace inter-State (between countries) interstate (between states) labelled, labelling inter-unit laborious intifada labour in toto labour-force (adj.) intra: compound forms are closed except: labour-market (adj.) intra-agency laissez-faire intra-industry laissez-passer (singular and plural) intra-mission land-grabbing landholder

10 landline Lotus Notes landlocked lower-case (adj.) landmine low-level (adj.) landowner lump-sum (adj.) land use (noun) lump sum (noun) land-use (adj.) laserdisc M lawmaker law-making machine gun lay off (verb) machine-readable layoff (noun) macro: compound forms are closed except: lead time macro level (noun), macro-level (adj.) lead-up (noun) (note: “macro” in this case is a stand- learned (not “learnt”) alone word, not a prefix) least developed countries macro-unit **lèse-majesté mainframe letter of assist mainland leukaemia Major General levelled, levelling mandate holder liaison man-hour (preferred: person-hour) liberalization man-made (preferred: human-caused, liberalize human-made) licence (noun) manoeuvre license (verb) man-portable air defence system (not Lieutenant General MANPADS) life cycle marketplace lifelong market town life-saving mark up (verb) lifespan markup (noun) lifestyle marriage timing (noun) life table (noun) marriage-timing (adj.) life-table (adj.) marshal lifetime marshalled, marshalling litre master plan live birth materiel live-born matrices living space meagre local area network meantime log in, log out (verb) meanwhile login, logout (noun) medium-sized (adj.) log on, log off (verb) medium-variant (adj.) logon, logoff (noun) meeting place long-standing (adj.) *megacity long-term (adj.) megajoule (MJ) loophole

11 megavolt (MV) modus operandi megavolt-ampere (MVA) money-laundering (noun and adj.) member-days moneylender, moneylending memorandums money market (noun and adj.) Mesoamerica moneys **Messrs. (in English) moratoriums meter (instrument) mores metre (unit of length) mould micro: compound forms are closed except: movable micro-business **Mr. micro-entrepreneur **Mrs. micro-environment **Ms. micro-event Muhammad (the Prophet) micro level (noun), micro-level (adj.) mujahid (plural: ***mujahidin) (note: “micro” in this case is a stand- multi-access alone word, not a prefix) multi-bilateral mid-1990s multibillion mid-air multi-cause midday multicellular middleman multi-centred midlife (noun and adj.) multichannel mid-ocean, mid-oceanic multi-client midpoint multicoloured mid-range multi-country mid-season multicultural mid-size multidimensional midsummer multidisciplinary midterm multi-donor midway multi-ethnic midweek **multi-faith midwife multifocal midwinter multifunctional midyear multigenerational mileage multigrade milieux multigrain millenniums multigravida mindset multi-hazard mine clearance (noun) multi-jurisdictional mine-clearance (adj.) multilateral minefield multilayer minimize multilevel misspelled (not “misspelt”) multilingual misstep multimedia *Mmes. (in English) multimillion modelled, modelling multinational

12 multipara nonconforming, nonconformist multipartite nondescript multi-partner nonfeasance multiparty nonetheless multiphase non sequitur multiplatform no one multiple-choice (adj.) north(ern), north-east(ern), north-west(ern) multipolar (a geographical direction or an area multiprocessor within a country) *multipurpose North(ern) (a continent or major region, e.g. multiracial North America, North Africa, Northern multisectoral Europe) multi-skilled northward multi-stakeholder note verbale (plural: notes verbales) *multistorey novies or noviens multitalented nursing home (noun) multitask, multitasker, multitasking multitrack O multi-user multi-utility octies or octiens multivendor odour multi-year oedema Muslim oesophagus mutatis mutandis offence

offensive N off-gas offhand nation State off-hours (noun) nationwide office holder neighbour off-label (adj.) neonatal off-limits (adj.) nevertheless offline newborn offload newsfeed off-message (adj.) newsflash off-peak newsgroup off-ramp (noun) news stand off-road newswire off season (noun) newsworthy off-season (adj. and adv.) niqab offset no-fly zone offshore no-man’s-land off-site (adj.) non-: compound forms are hyphenated offspring (singular and plural) except: oilfield

13 oil well part-time old age (noun) passer-by (plural: passers-by) old-age (adj.) payback (noun) old-growth (adj.) payday omega-3 fatty acid payroll on-board (adj.) (on a ship or aircraft) peacebuilder, peacebuilding onboarding (in human resources) peacekeeper, peacekeeping ongoing peacemaker, peacemaking online peacetime on-message (adj.) *penholder on-screen per annum onshore per capita on-site (adj.) per cent onward (adj. and adv.) per diem op-ed (noun and adj.) perinatal ordinance (law) peri-urban ordnance (munitions) per se organization person-day, person-hour organization chart (not “organigram(me)” phyto-: combinations are closed or “organizational chart”) place name organize plebiscite outmigration plough out-of-court (adj) P.O. Box out-of-date (adj.) policyholder outpatient policymaker, policymaking outsource policy-setting out-take (noun) post-adolescent over: compound forms are closed except: post-cold-war over-elaborate postdoctoral over-exercise post-feminist over-optimistic postglacial over-refine postgraduate *overabundant post-industrial **overrepresent post-marital postmillennial P postmodern post-mortem

*postnatal paediatric post-neonatal paedophile postnuptial panellist post-operative paper-smart (adj.) post-partum paralyse post-session paramedical post-war paramilitary power plant

14 power-sharing prima facie practice (noun) principal (first in rank) (noun and adj.) practise (verb) principle (fundamental truth) (noun) pre-adolescent printout pre-book private sector (not hyphenated) **précis privatization précis-writer, précis-writing privatize preconceive procès-verbal (plural: procès-verbaux) precondition pro-choice pre-construction procyclical *predate program (computing only) (noun and verb) predeployment programme (noun and verb) pre-eclampsia pronatalism, pronatalist pre-embryo proofread, proofreader pre-eminent pro rata pre-empt prorate pre-establish pro tempore pre-exist psycho: compound forms are closed pre-ignition public sector (not hyphenated) pre-industrial pre-initiation countries Q pre-inspection pre-investment **qadi premarital quater pre-modern quinquies or quinquiens prenatal ***Qur'an pre-owned **Qur'anic pre-package pre-plan pre-position R pre-press pre-production radioactive pre-qualify radioisotope pre-record rain-fed pre-register rainforest pre-release rainwater preschool raison d'être pre-screen range area pre-sell rangeland(s) pre-session rapprochement President-elect rateable pretence ratepayer *pretrial (but Pre-Trial Chamber of the re-: combinations are closed except: International Criminal Court) re-advertise pre-war re-edit

15 re-educate roll out (verb) re-elect roll-out (noun) re-emerge roll over (verb) re-emphasize rollover (noun) re-employ round table (noun) re-enact round-table (adj.) re-enforce routing re-engage RU486 re-engineer rule-making re-enrol rule of law (not hyphenated) re-enter rumour re-equip run-off (noun and adj.) re-erect run-up (noun) re-establish rural-urban (demographic movement) re-evaluate rural/urban (comparison) re-examine re-export S read-only memory readout (noun) safe-period method record-breaking (adj.) salary earner referendums saleable reflection salt water (noun) refoulement saltwater (adj.) regime satphone region-wide savings bank *reroute sceptic, sceptical, scepticism results-based (adj.) school-age (adj.) results-oriented (adj.) schoolbook résumé schoolchild retro: combinations are closed schoolday reversible schoolroom right to life (noun) schoolteacher right-to-life (adj.) schoolwork rigorous seabed rigour sea floor risk reduction (noun and adj.) sea level (not hyphenated) riverbed seaport river water seawater roadbed ** Secretary-General (plural: Secretaries- roadblock General) road map sectoral roadwork security sector (not hyphenated) rollback (noun) self-: compound forms are hyphenated roll call (noun) sell off (verb) roll-call (adj.)

16 sell-off (noun) shanty town semi-annual (twice a year) sharia semi-automatic sheikh semi-autonomous shellfire semicircle Shia semicolon Shiite semiconductor shopkeeper semi-conscious shortcoming semi-cylinder shortfall semi-darkness shortlist semi-detached short-lived semi-final side effect semi-finished sine qua non semi-independent sizeable semi-invalid size class semi-literate skilful semi-monthly (twice a month) (see also skill set “Ambiguous terms” under Numbers, slow down (verb) dates and time) slowdown (noun) semi-official *slum dweller semi-permanent smartphone semi-precious sociobiology semi-professional sociocultural semi-retired sociodemographic semi-rigid ***socioeconomic semi-skilled *sociomedical semi-solid sociopolitical semi-trailer soft-walled (adj.) semi-weekly (twice a week) (see also solicitor general (plural: solicitors general) “Ambiguous terms” under Numbers, sombre dates and time) south(ern), south-east(ern), south- west(ern) septicaemia (a geographical direction or an area septies or septiens within a country) seroprevalence South(ern), South-East(ern), South- serostatus West(ern) (a continent or major region, set back (verb) e.g. South America, Southern Africa, setback (noun) Southern Europe, South-East Asia; set up (verb) exception: Association of Southeast set-up (noun) Asian Nations) sewage (waste matter) South-South cooperation sewerage (system of drains) southward sexies or sexiens spatial-profile model sex-selective (adj.) specialize shake up (verb) speed-dial (verb) shake-up (noun) speed dial (noun)

17 spelled (not “spelt”) sub-branch spillover (noun and adj.) sub-bureau stabilization sub-calibre stabilize sub-centre staff-day, staff-hour sub-clan staff member sub-discipline stakeholder sub-element stalemate sub-entry standby (noun and adj.) sub-folder stand-alone (adj.) sub-interval stand in (verb) sub-issue stand-in (noun) sub-item State-building sub-lessee stationary (not moving) sub-lessor stationery (paper) **sub-let status-conscious sub-munitions status-of-forces agreement sub-office status quo sub-prefect steady-state (adj.) sub-prefecture step: compound forms are closed except: sub-prime step-parent sub-province stillbirth sub-Saharan stillborn (adj.) sub-theme stockbreeder sub-working group stockbroker sub-zero stockholder subject matter (noun) stock market subprogram (computing only) stockpile subprogramme stocktaking *subunit storefront succour storekeeper **sulfur (and related words) storey (of a building) summarize straightforward Sunna (traditional Muslim law) strikebreaker Sunni (adj. and noun, singular and plural) strike-slip fault Sunnite strip-search **super-Power *sub: compound forms are closed except: supersede sub-account superstructure sub-amendment supervisor sub-aquatic surface water (noun) sub-area surface-water (adj.) sub-assembly suspense account sub-block syllabuses sub-body symposiums sub-bottom system-wide

18 *training ground T tranquillity tranquillizer

transalpine takeover (noun) transatlantic takfirism, takfirist transboundary Taliban transcontinental targeted, targeting trans-fat, trans-fatty acid tariff transferable, transference task force transferred, transferring taxpayer transgender tele-health transglobal telemedicine transmigrant ter trans-Pacific test-ban (adj.) transracial text-processing transsexual text processor trans-ship, trans-shipment therefor (for that purpose) travelled, travelling therefore (consequently) tripwire think tank troop contributor time-consuming troop-contributing time deposit T-shirt time frame tsunamis time-horizon tunnelled, tunnelling timekeeper turn around (verb) time lag turnaround (noun) time limit turning point timeline turnkey (adj.) time period turn off (verb) time-release (adj.) turn-off (noun) timescale turn out (verb) time series turnout (noun) time sheet turn over (verb) timespan turnover (noun) timetable two-faced title page twofold ton (i.e. metric ton) typeset, typesetting, typesetter topsoil tyre totalled, totalling towards town hall meeting U toxaemia tradable **ulama trade-off (noun) ultra: compound forms are closed except: traffics, trafficked, trafficking ultra-high frequency (noun)

19 ultra-high-frequency (adj.) Vice-President-elect **under: compound forms are closed vice versa except when modifying a hyphenated video camera compound videoconference undersecretary videodisc **Under-Secretary-General (plural: Under- video game Secretaries-General) videographics under way videography uni: compound forms are closed video link unmistakable video map update video on demand upgrade videophone upper-case (adj.) video pirate uproot video recorder up-to-date (adj.) video recording upward (adj. and adv.) viewfinder *urban dweller viewpoint urban-rural (demographic movement) vigorous urban/rural (comparison) vigour usability vis-à-vis usable vitamin A use-by date voicemail use-effectiveness voice-over (noun and adj.) user-friendly voiceprint username utilize W U-turn

Uzi wage earner

wage-earning V wagon Wahhabi vacuum aspiration method walkie-talkie vacuum-pack (verb) walk in (verb) vacuum-packed (adj.) walk-in (adj.) value added (noun and adj.) walkout (noun) value system walk-through (noun) vapour wallboard vari: compound forms are closed wallchart V-chip Walloon venepuncture waqf versus war chest vice (tool) war crime Vice-Chair war criminal Vice-President war cry

20 war game wattmeter warhead wavelength warlike weather-beaten warlord weatherproof warmonger webcam warpath webcast warplane web hosting warship webinar wartime webisode war-torn (adj.) weblink washout (noun) weblog washtub webmail wastewater webmaster Washington, D.C. web page watch list (noun and adj.) web ring watchtower website waterbird webspace water birth weekday waterboard, waterboarding weekend waterborne well: compound adjectives are hyphenated water cannon only when preceding a noun (e.g. a well- watercourse designed project; the project is well watercraft designed) waterfowl well-being waterfront well-to-do waterhole well water (noun) water level well-wisher waterline west(ern) (a geographical direction or an waterlogged area within a country) water main West(ern) (a major region, e.g. West watermark Africa, Western Europe) watermill west-north-west, west-south-west water power westward waterproof wetland(s) water-repellant (adj.) wet lease water-resistant (adj.) wheelchair watershed while (not “whilst”) water supply whistle-blower, whistle-blowing water table whiteboard watertight white list (noun) water torture white-list (verb) water tower whitewash waterway wholegrain waterworks wholehearted watt-hour wholewheat

21 wide area network workforce wideband **work-hour widebody workload Wi-Fi workload-sharing wild card work out (verb) wildcat workout (noun) wildfire work permit wildfowl workplace wilful workplan windblown workroom windborne worksheet windbreak workshop windburn worksite wind chill workspace windfall workstation windowpane workweek windowsill worldwide windproof would-be (adj.) windscreen write down (verb) windshield write-down (noun) windstorm write in (verb) windswept write-in (noun) winegrower write off (verb) winemaker write-off (noun) wingspan write-protect, write-protected wingspread write up (verb) win-win (adj.) write-up (noun) wiretap, wiretapping, wiretapper wrongdoing witchcraft witch-hunt X withhold woman-month, woman-year X chromosome woodblock xeno: compound forms are closed woodchip X factor woodpile X-ray woodshed woodsmoke woodwork woodyard word-processing word processor work around (verb) workaround (noun) workday workflow

22 Y yarmulke Y chromosome year-on-year (adj.) year-round (adj.) YouTube

Z zero gravity zeros zero-sum (adj.) zero-tolerance (adj.) zigzag zoogeography zookeeper zoonosis zooplankton Z particle