Today we’ll look at a simple list of compounds words that you can teach to preschool and kg kids. Below is the list of Compound Words arranged in an alphabetical order.
What are Compound Words?
Compound words are the words which are created when two words are joined to form a new word which has completely different meaning.
For Example, “Snow” and “Man” are two different words, but when joined, they form another word “Snowman”.
To help kids better understand the concepts we have broken down each compound word into its sub words.
100 Examples of Compound Words for Kids
Compound Word | Breakdown of Each Word |
airport | air + port |
anymore | any + more |
anyplace | any + place |
anything | any + thing |
anywhere | any + where |
basketball | basket + ball |
bathrobe | bath + robe |
bathtub | bath + tub |
battleship | battle + ship |
briefcase | brief + case |
buttercup | butter + cup |
butterfly | butter + fly |
campfire | camp + fire |
campground | camp + ground |
candlestick | candles + tick |
cardboard | card + board |
carpet | car + pet |
dishwater | dish +w ater |
doorbell | door + bell |
doormat | door + mat |
doorstep | door + step |
doorstop | door + stop |
dragonfly | dragon + fly |
earache | ear + ache |
earrings | ear + rings |
evergreen | ever + green |
everybody | every + body |
everyday | every + day |
football | foot + ball |
footprint | foot + print |
forget | for + get |
grandfather | grand + father |
grandmother | grand + mother |
grandstand | grand + stand |
grasshopper | grass + hopper |
heartbeat | heart + beat |
heartbroken | heart + broken |
highway | high + way |
homework | home + work |
honeycomb | honey + comb |
hookworm | hook + worm |
horsefly | horse + fly |
houseboat | house + boat |
inside | in + side |
jawbone | jaw + bone |
ladybug | lady + bug |
landlady | land + lady |
landlord | land + lord |
leadership | leader + ship |
lengthwise | length + wise |
lighthouse | light + house |
loudspeaker | loud + speaker |
matchstick | match + stick |
meatball | meat + ball |
outfield | out + field |
outfit | out + fit |
outgrow | out + grow |
outlaw | out + law |
outlet | out+ let |
outnumber | out + number |
outpatient | out + patient |
outside | out + side |
overboard | over + board |
overdose | over + dose |
overdue | over + due |
pancake | pan + cake |
partnership | partner + ship |
penknife | pen + knife |
photocopy | photo + copy |
playground | play + ground |
playroom | play + room |
popcorn | pop + corn |
postman | post+ man |
railway | rail + way |
rainbow | rain + bow |
raindrops | rain + drops |
sandbags | sand + bags |
seafood | sea + food |
seaweed | sea + weed |
skateboard | skate + board |
snowboard | snow + board |
spaceship | space + ship |
staircase | stair + case |
starlight | star + light |
sunlight | sun + light |
sunshine | sun + shine |
superhuman | super + human |
supernatural | super + natural |
surfboard | surf + board |
tailgate | tail + gate |
teacup | tea + cup |
teapot | tea + pot |
thunderstorm | thunder + storm |
tightrope | tight + rope |
timetable | time + table |
tombstone | tombs + tone |
toolbox | tool + box |
toothbrush | tooth + brush |
understand | under + stand |
wallpaper | wall + paper |
wardrobe | ward + robe |
woodland | wood + land |
woodpile | wood + pile |
woodshed | wood + shed |
woodwork | wood + work |
woodworm | wood + worm |
yourself | your + self |
Phew!, that was a really long list. One thing you all must have noticed is that the sub words have different meaning than the compound word which is actually good. This property helps us form more compound words.
Types of Compound Words
There are three types of compound words – open, closed and hyphenated.
- Open Compound Words are words that remain separate with a space between them. for example – Space shuttle, Video game etc.
- Closed Compound Words are written as a single word, such as teapot, sunshine etc.
- Hyphenated Compound Words are written with a hyphen between two sub-words for example – good-looking, close-up etc.
Examples of Open Compound Words
Open compound words are formed when a modifying adjective is attached to a noun to create a new noun. You must note that it is not simply an adjective describing a noun in a sentence, but instead, the compound which is formed is actually a whole new word.
We place a space between the modifying adjective and the noun, which keeps the compound open, and hard to identify.
Let’s look at some examples of open compound words:
- full moon
- high school
- real estate
- living room
- dinner table
- new moon
- real estate
- coffee table
- paper back
- racing car
- mountain bike
- jogging pants
- foster mom
- high school
- school bus
- ice cream
- coffee mug
Examples of Closed Compound Words
Closed compound words are two or more words that are joined together as one word. Closed compound words look like one word. Initially they were not accepted as words but over time, many started accepting them as “real words” in English.
Following are some examples of closed compound words:
- airport
- basketball
- bathtub
- battleship
- butterfly
- cardboard
- dragonfly
- football
- grandfather
- homework
- lighthouse
- outside
- pancake
- rainbow
- spaceship
Examples of Hyphenated Compound Words
Hyphenated compound words are usually characterized by hyphen symbol ‘-‘ between the sub-words.
Words | Sentence Examples |
accident-prone | It is an accident-prone area, please be careful. |
good-looking | He is a good-looking boy. |
well-known | Gandhi is a well-known personality. |
no-one | no-one came to see us. |
co-operate | we should co-operate with our teammates. |
custom-built | I will get a custom-built computer for you. |
high-rise | a high-rise building is a very tall building. |
high-tech | Bangalore is a hub of high-tech industries. |
far-off | Madagascar is a far-off country. |
close-up | I need a close-up of wild animals. |
left-handed | Ganguly is a left-handed batsmen. |
white-collar | I love white-collar jobs. |
worn-out | I will replace the worn-out jeans with a new one. |
self-respect | You need you have self-respect. |
check-in | My check-in time for flight is 01:30 PM. |
check-out | My check-out from restaurant was at 09:30 PM. |
runner-up | Kolkata was twice runner-up of formula cup match. |
empty-handed | Why have you returned empty-handed ? |
long-distance | It is difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship. |
long-term | Long-term investment is the best investment. |
one-sided | Today’s match was one-sided. |
one-way | Make your mind up one-way or the other |
ready-made | These are ready-made sarees. |
part-time | I am looking for a part-time job. |
Note : Every word using hyphen symbol ‘-‘ to connect its sub-words is a hyphenated compound word.
Find compound words worksheet to help your kids practice what they have learned.