1.86 lists of compound nouns

Compound nouns may be countable, uncountable, singular, or plural.

Here is a list of some common countable compound nouns:

• address book, air conditioner, air raid, alarm clock, assembly line, baby-sitter, back-seat driver, bank account, bird of prey, book token, blood donor, bride-to-be, bring-and-buy sale, brother-in-law, burglar alarm, bus stop, can opener, car park, come-on, comrade in arms, compact disc, contact lens, cover-up, credit card, dining room, drawing pin, driving licence, estate agent, fairy tale, film star, fire engine, fork-lift truck, frying pan, guided missile, health centre, heart attack, high school, human being, letter-box, lily of the valley, looker-on, musical instrument, nervous breakdown, news bulletin, old hand, one-parent family, package holiday, Parent-Teacher Association, parking meter, passer-by, pen-friend, personal computer, polar bear, police station, post office, runner-up, sleeping bag, summing-up, swimming pool, T-shirt, tea bag, telephone number, traveller's cheque, tea-table, turn-over, washing machine, X-ray, youth hostel, zebra crossing

1.87

Here is a list of some common uncountable compound nouns:

• air conditioning, air-traffic control, barbed wire, birth control, blood pressure, bubble bath, capital punishment, central heating, chewing gum, common sense, cotton wool, data processing, do-it-yourself, dry-cleaning, family planning, fancy dress, fast-food, first aid, food poisoning, further education, general knowledge, hay fever, heart failure, higher education, hire purchase, income tax, junk food, law and order, lost property, mail order, make-up, mineral water, nail varnish, natural history, old age, pocket money, remote control, science fiction, show business, show jumping, sign language, social security, social work, soda water, stainless steel, table tennis, talcum powder, toilet paper, tracing paper, unemployment benefit, value added tax, washing powder, washing-up liquid, water-skiing, writing paper

1.88

Here is a list of some common singular compound nouns:

• age of consent, arms race, brain drain, colour bar, cost of living, death penalty, diplomatic corps, dress circle, drying-up, fire brigade, general public, generation gap, greenhouse effect, human race, labour force, labour market, long jump, mother-tongue, open air, private sector, public sector, rank and file, solar system, sound barrier, space age, stop press, welfare state, women's movement

1.89

Here is a list of some common plural compound nouns:

• French fries, armed forces, baked beans, civil rights, current affairs, grass roots, high heels, human rights, industrial relations, inverted commas, licensing laws, luxury goods, modern languages, natural resources, race relations, road works, social services, social studies, swimming trunks, vocal cords, winter sports, yellow pages