"high quality white LED"

[cheshire]

(1)high-quality white LED
(2)high quality white LED
​

Which is better? Is (2) bad because it doesn't specify what "high" modifies?

 

[clairanne]

Hi

I would use 2 assuming that you mean "LED" of a high quality.

 

[Hakro]

Encyclopedia Britannica seems to prefer "high-quality" in similar cases.

 

[clairanne]

hi

The Cambridge on line dictionary has many hyphenated "high" words but these do not include "high-quality"

 

[Hakro]

There seems to be no rule whether to use the hyphen or not. It also may depend on the context.

What you get from the first page (there are 85 pages altogether) of Google:

1) create high-quality PDF; High-quality Britney Spears pictures; high-quality images; what high-quality content really is; etc.

2) high quality wallpapers; High Quality Detachering; HIGH quality erotic wallpapers; (Full Length, High Quality); etc.

It seems to be a dead heat.

 

[mytwolangs]

In American English, the hyphen is often used in these cases.
When in doubt, it is best to use it. Yet both get the same point across.

 

[Hakro]

When in doubt, it is best to use it.

That's a very good point!

Thanks, Mytwolangs!

Hakro

 

[elroy]

I would go so far as to say that the hyphen is mandatory in this case because "high-quality" is one adjective describing LED. Unless you are trying to say that the LED is high, quality, and white - use the hyphen.

 

[Hakro]

I would go so far as to say that the hyphen is mandatory in this case because "high-quality" is one adjective describing LED. Unless you are trying to say that the LED is high, quality, and white - use the hyphen.

Thanks, Elroy, as a foreigner I didn't have the courage to say it although I had the same idea.