161 words that make a compound with a word before them and a word after them — the hinges that let compound words chain. Built from 611 verified compound pairs across 297 words.
Take LIGHT. Plenty of words sit in front of it — flashlight, moonlight, spotlight, daylight, headlight. Plenty of words sit behind it too — lighthouse, lightweight. A word that works on both sides is a hinge: it can sit in the middle of a chain and hold two compounds together at once.
DAY → LIGHT → HOUSEDAYLIGHT and LIGHTHOUSE are both real words, so LIGHT hinges them. Add SOME in front (SOMEDAY) and you have a four-word chain in which every neighbouring pair joins: SOME → DAY → LIGHT → HOUSE.
Hinges are the whole trick behind compound-word chain puzzles. If you are stuck on one, the fastest route is usually to ignore the clue you are staring at and ask instead: which words are good hinges? The table below is that list.
Each row is one hinge word. The middle column lists the words that can go in front of it, so flash in the LIGHT row means FLASHLIGHT. The right column lists the words that can go after it, so house means LIGHTHOUSE. A word that appears in both columns of the same row joins on either side: GUN takes shot in front (SHOTGUN) and shot behind (GUNSHOT). Type in the box to filter the table by any word.
161 of 161 hinge words shown.
| Hinge | Words that go in front | Words that go after |
|---|---|---|
| AFTER | here | life, taste, thought |
| ARM | fire, side | chair, pit |
| BACK | come, fall, feed, flash, horse, out, paper, pay, play, quarter, set, throw | board, bone, door, fire, ground, hand, pack, room, seat, side, stage, ward, water, woods, yard |
| BAG | hand | man |
| BALL | base, eye, fire, foot, hand, meat, snow, soft | game, park, point, room |
| BAND | head | stand |
| BASE | data | ball, line |
| BATH | blood | room |
| BED | day, death, flower, river, sea, water | post, rock, room, side, spread, time |
| BIRD | black | house |
| BIRTH | child | day, place |
| BLOOD | life | bath, less, line |
| BOARD | back, black, card, clip, head, key, mother, out, over, side, story | room, walk |
| BOAT | dream, gun, house, power | house, load, man |
| BODY | every, some | guard |
| BONE | back | less |
| BOOK | check, hand, note, text, work, year | mark, shop, store, worm |
| BOW | cross, rain | man, tie |
| BOY | cow, house, school | friend, hood |
| BREAK | day, fire, heart, house, out, tie | away, down, fast, out, through, water |
| BROTHER | step | hood |
| BURN | heart, sun | out |
| CARD | post | board |
| CAST | out, over | away |
| CHAIR | arm, wheel | man, woman |
| CHECK | cross, pay | book, list, mark, out, point |
| CHILD | grand, step | birth |
| CLIP | paper | board |
| CLOUD | storm | burst |
| CLUB | night | house |
| COME | out, over | back |
| COUNT | head | down |
| CUT | under | off, out |
| DAY | birth, every, pay, some, sun, work | bed, break, dream, dreaming, light, time |
| DOG | watch | house |
| DOOR | back, out | man, post, step, way |
| DOWN | break, count, let, low, mark, run, show, shut, sun, take, touch | fall, hill, load, right, river, side, stairs, stream, time, town, turn, ward, wind |
| DREAM | day | boat, land |
| DRIVE | over | way |
| DROP | rain | out |
| FALL | down, foot, land, night, rain, rock, water, wind | back, out |
| FATHER | god, grand, step | hood, land, less |
| FIRE | back, camp, cross, gun, wild | arm, arms, ball, break, fighter, fly, house, light, man, men, place, power, proof, side, wall, wood, work |
| FLOWER | sun | bed, pot |
| FLY | fire | over, paper |
| FOOT | big, under | ball, fall, man, step, work |
| FREE | care | man, way |
| FRIEND | boy, girl | ship |
| GAME | ball | play |
| GIRL | cow, school | friend |
| GROUND | back, camp, play, under | less, water, work |
| GUARD | black, body, life | house, rail, room |
| GUN | hand, shot | boat, fire, man, men, point, powder, ship, shot |
| HAND | back, before, farm, first, off, over, under | bag, ball, book, gun, out, over, print, set |
| HEAD | black, hot, over, red, war | band, board, count, land, less, light, line, long, man, master, room, set, strong, way |
| HEAR | over | say |
| HEART | sweet | break, burn, land |
| HILL | down | side, top |
| HORSE | sea, work | back, power |
| HOUSE | bird, boat, club, court, dog, farm, fire, green, guard, light, mad, out, play, power, store, town, wheel, work | boat, boy, break, hold, keeping, man, plant, wife, wives, work |
| HOW | some | ever |
| KEY | pass | board |
| LADY | land | ship |
| LAND | dream, father, head, heart, high, home, main, mother, over, waste, wonder, wood | fall, lady, line, lord, mark, owner, slide, ward |
| LAW | out | less, man, suit |
| LAY | over | man, out, over |
| LEADER | cheer | ship |
| LET | out | down |
| LIFE | after, low, night, wild | blood, guard, less, line, long, style, time |
| LIGHT | day, fire, flash, head, high, moon, night, side, spot, sun | house, weight |
| LINE | base, blood, head, land, life, off, out, pipe, shore, side, time, under, water | man, up |
| LIST | check | less |
| LONG | head, life | time |
| LOOK | out, over | out |
| LORD | land, over, war | ship |
| black | man | |
| MAN | bag, boat, bow, business, camera, cave, chair, council, door, every, fire, foot, free, french, fresh, gun, hang, head, house, law, lay, line, mad, mail, middle, milk, post, strong, watch, water, wood, woods, work | hole, hood, hunt, kind, power |
| MARK | bench, book, check, land | down |
| MASTER | head, post | mind, piece |
| MIND | master | less |
| MORE | any, further | over |
| MOTHER | god, grand, step | board, hood, land, less |
| NIGHT | good, over | cap, club, fall, life, light, stand, time |
| OFF | cut, knock, pay, run, stand, take, turn | hand, line, load, screen, set, shore, side, spring, stage |
| ONE | every, some | self |
| OUT | black, break, burn, check, cut, drop, fall, hand, hang, hide, knock, lay, look, pay, print, read, shoot, take, through, time, turn, walk, with, work | back, board, break, cast, come, door, fit, going, house, law, let, line, look, post, put, right, run, set, side, standing, take, ward, wit |
| OVER | cross, fly, hand, hang, lay, left, more, pass, take, turn | all, board, cast, come, drive, due, hand, head, hear, land, lap, lay, load, look, lord, night, pass, pay, power, ride, run, see, sight, step, take, throw, time, turn, view, weight, work |
| OWNER | land | ship |
| PAGE | web | view |
| PAPER | fly, news, wall | back, clip, weight, work |
| PARK | ball | way |
| PASS | over, under | key, over, word |
| PAY | over, under | back, check, day, load, off, out |
| PIPE | wind | line |
| PLAY | game, screen, word | back, ground, house |
| POINT | ball, check, gun, stand, view | less |
| POST | bed, door, out | card, man, master, war |
| POT | flower | hole |
| POWER | fire, horse, man, over, under, will | boat, house, less |
| hand | out | |
| PROOF | fire, quake | read |
| QUAKE | earth | proof |
| RAIL | guard | road |
| READ | proof | out |
| RIVER | down | bed, side |
| ROAD | rail | map |
| ROCK | bed | fall |
| ROOF | sun | top |
| ROOM | back, ball, bath, bed, board, guard, head, store, work | mate |
| RUN | out, over | away, down, off, way |
| SCREEN | off, sun | play |
| SEA | under | bed, horse, side |
| SEAT | back | belt |
| SELF | one | less |
| SET | hand, head, off, out, sun | back |
| SHIP | friend, gun, lady, leader, lord, owner | load, yard |
| SHOP | book, work | keeper |
| SHORE | off | line |
| SHOT | gun, hot | gun |
| SIDE | back, bed, down, fire, hill, off, out, river, sea, top, under, water, way | arm, board, kick, light, line, step, walk |
| SIGHT | over | seeing |
| SISTER | step | hood |
| SOME | fear, trouble, whole | body, day, how, one, time, what |
| SPRING | off, well | time |
| STAND | band, night, under | off, point, still |
| STEP | door, foot, over, side | brother, child, father, mother, sister, son |
| STORE | book, drug | house, room |
| STORM | rain | cloud |
| STRONG | head | man |
| TAKE | out, over, under | away, down, off, out, over |
| TASTE | after | less |
| THOUGHT | after | less |
| THROUGH | break | out |
| THROW | over | away, back |
| TIE | bow | break |
| TIME | any, bed, day, down, life, long, night, over, some, spring, war | less, line, out, table |
| TOP | hill, roof | side |
| TOWN | down | house |
| TURN | down, over | off, out, over, table |
| UP | line | date |
| VIEW | over, page | point |
| WALK | board, cross, side | away, out, way |
| WALL | fire | paper |
| WAR | post | head, lord, time |
| WATCH | stop | dog, man |
| WATER | back, break, ground, rain, under | bed, fall, line, man, side, way |
| WAY | any, door, drive, free, head, park, run, under, walk, water | side, ward |
| WEIGHT | light, over, paper | less |
| WELL | ink | spring |
| WHAT | some | ever, not |
| WIDE | world | spread |
| WILL | good | power |
| WIND | down | fall, pipe |
| WIT | out | less |
| WOMAN | chair | hood |
| WOOD | black, fire, under, worm | land, man, work |
| WOODS | back | man |
| WORD | pass | play |
| WORK | art, clock, fire, foot, ground, home, house, over, paper, team, wood | book, day, horse, house, load, man, out, place, room, shop |
| WORLD | under | wide |
| WORM | book | wood |
These ten words appear in more compounds than any others in this set, which makes them the first things worth trying when a chain will not come:
The busiest hinges have a page each, listing every compound they take part in and the chains you can build through them: index of hinge word pages.
If you want the raw material rather than the hinges, every compound word this list was built from is set out alphabetically, each split into its two parts, on the A–Z compound word list.
A handful of word pairs compound in either order, and the two results almost never mean related things. These are the ones in this set:
The gap in meaning is the interesting part. English compounds are head-final: the second element says what the thing is and the first modifies it. A shotgun is a gun; a gunshot is a shot. Flip the order and you flip the noun, which is why reversible pairs read like puns rather than synonyms.
English builds compounds most freely from short, concrete, old words. Almost every heavy hinge in the list is a one-syllable noun or particle: man, out, over, back, house, land, down, fire, work, side. Long or borrowed words — consideration, elegant, machine — almost never compound, because English stopped forming closed compounds with Latinate vocabulary.
Particles are the strongest hinges of all. OVER and OUT attach in front of dozens of verbs (overtake, overload, outrun, outlast) and also sit behind nouns and verbs (flyover, handout). That two-way flexibility is exactly what a hinge needs.
Every pairing here is drawn from the answer bank of KEYSTONE, a daily compound-word chain puzzle, so each one has been checked as an accepted answer rather than scraped from a corpus. Strings that only look like compounds have been removed by hand: justice is not just + ice, hatred is not hat + red, package is pack plus a suffix, and place names like Portland are not compounds of interest. If you spot one I have missed, the whole generator is open source.
The list is deliberately not exhaustive for English as a whole — it is the working vocabulary of a puzzle, which is a more useful thing to memorise than a dictionary dump.
KEYSTONE gives you the two ends of a four-word chain and asks for the two in the middle. Three chains a day, no account, no cookies to accept.