Schoolwide, School wide, or School-wide? (Helpful Examples)

When using “school-wide,” it would help to know whether it’s one or two words. Therefore, this article will look at whether it is hyphenated, or what you need to know to use it. Don’t worry; we’ll have all the answers for you soon!

Schoolwide vs. School wide vs. School-wide

“Schoolwide” and “school-wide” are both correct and are the only acceptable options. We use “schoolwide” when writing in American English, while we use “school-wide” in British English. The hyphen is much more common in British English, but the US tends to drop it for simplicity.

Schoolwide, School wide, or School-wide?

It might help you to have some statistics to compare that against. That way, you’ll have more of an understanding of when each form is correct.

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “schoolwide” is by far the most popular choice in American English. The hyphenated form is still sometimes used, but it does not come close to the number of uses the single-word “schoolwide” gets.

Cofounder or Co-founder - American English

On the contrary, according to Google Ngram Viewer, “school-wide” is the most popular choice in British English. Again, “schoolwide” is still a suitable option, but the hyphen is much more useful and important when writing in British English.

Cofounder or Co-founder - British English

Is “Schoolwide” One Word?

“Schoolwide” is one word according to American English rules. We drop the hyphen when writing in American English because it helps to simplify the language. Even though the words “school” and “wide” are separate, American English likes to combine them.

This is true for a lot of hyphenated words in the English language. You’ll often find that American English drops most hyphens, while British English tends to lean more heavily into them.

These examples might help you to understand more about it:

  1. There was a schoolwide panic amongst the students, but nobody knew what was happening.
  2. The schoolwide flu seemed to completely wipe out half of the teachers!
  3. This is a schoolwide event, so we expect each and every one of you to show up to have some fun.
  4. The problems are schoolwide, which is why it’s important that we do everything in our power to fix them now.
  5. There are too many schoolwide rumors circulating about you, so you need to be careful.

Is “School wide” Two Words?

“School wide” is not two words. There are no cases where we should write it in this way. If you were going to try and use the two words separately, it’s best to try and stick to the hyphenated form.

We include hyphens in our writing to modify nouns. It’s important to use hyphens whenever we’re trying to modify a sentence, which you might see in the following examples:

  • Correct: The school-wide event is going to take place in a matter of seconds.
  • Incorrect: The school wide fair is on, but we can’t find anyone to kick it off.
  • Correct: The school-wide assembly managed to bring a tear to everyone’s eyes.
  • Incorrect: The school wide holiday was much needed!
  • Correct: The school-wide grounds have made history today!
  • Incorrect: My school wide friendships have finally been thwarted.

Is “School-wide” Hyphenated?

“School-wide” should be hyphenated when written in British English. Since “school” and “wide” are separate words, a hyphen is an important piece of punctuation to include when we group them together. British English users value the hyphen for readability’s sake.

You might benefit from checking out the following examples:

  1. The school-wide evacuation took place a few seconds before everything went down.
  2. There was school-wide drama today, and I loved it!
  3. The school-wide assembly was such good fun! I hope we can all do it again.
  4. This issue is school-wide. I think it’s time you talked to your teachers if you want to learn more.
  5. The school-wide illnesses are taking us all by surprise.

Is “Wide” Capitalized In The Word “School-Wide”?

“Wide” does not need to be capitalized in “school-wide.” It is not a proper noun, and it is only used as an adjective to describe or modify another noun in a sentence. However, you might capitalize it if you’re writing it as part of a title.

Generally, if you like to capitalize all of the words in your title, you might find that “School-Wide” is the most appropriate way to write it. Even though the hyphen makes the two words into one, it’s still acceptable to capitalize both.