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mattigames06/25/20252 repliesview on HN

"Use case" is written without hyphen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Use_case


Replies

WorldMaker06/25/2025

Hyphenation of multi-word nouns is a process in English that usually happens after some time of usage as separate words. It often happens before eventually merger into a single compound word noun. Such as: "Electronic Mail" to "E Mail" to "e-mail" to "email".

Given how often it is used as a jargon term in software development, I can absolutely see this usage of "use-case" here as a "vote" for the next step in the process. Will we eventually see "usecase" become common? It's possible. I think it might even be a good idea. I'm debating adding my own "votes" for the hyphen moving forward.

fkyoureadthedoc06/25/2025

I have to differentiate myself from LLMs by using words wrong though