Guide to English grammar

Gale-force winds, a no-strike agreement, a record-breaking performance, the long-awaited results, Anglo-Irish talks, out-of-date attitudes, a ten-mile walk, a thirty-year-old mother of four
But when these words come after the verb, they are usually separate words.
Winds reaching gale force, attitudes that are out of date

2 We also use a hyphen in compound numbers below 100 and in fractions.
Forty-seven, five hundred and eighty-nine, one and three-quarters

3 With compounds of two nouns these are the possibilities.

One word Hyphen Two words

motorway motor-scooter motor car

Some compounds can be written more than one way, e.g. phone card/phone-card/ phonecard (GB). Most compounds are written either as one word or as two. If you are unsure, it is safer not to use a hyphen.
But we often use hyphens with these types of compound noun.

Noun + gerund Verb + adverb Letter + noun

stamp-collecting, windsurfing take-off, a walk-out an X-ray

4 We sometimes use a hyphen after a prefix, e.g. non, pre, anti, semi.

A non-violent protest, a pre-cooked meal
But there are no exact rules, and we often write such words without a hyphen.
Antisocial attitudes, sit in a semicircle

For more examples, • 284.

NOTE

1. 
   We do not normally use a hyphen after un, in or dis, e.g. unfriendly, invisible, disorder.
   
2. 
   We use a hyphen when the prefix comes before a capital letter.