hyphen

1. The symbol "‐", typically used to join two or more words to form a compound term, or to indicate that a word has been split at the end of a line.
2. Something that links two more consequential things.
3. An enclosed walkway or passage that connects two buildings.
4. Someone who belongs to a marginalized subgroup, and can therefore described by a hyphenated term, such as "German-American", "female-academic", etc.

verb

To separate or punctuate with a hyphen; to hyphenate.

conjunction

Used to emphasize the coordinating function usually indicated by the punctuation "-".