en dash
The dash (–) longer than a hyphen and shorter than an em dash.
The en dash has three main uses. First, it joins numbers, dates, or times to show a range, meaning “to” or “through”: pages 12–18, Monday–Friday. Second, it joins two names of equal weight to show a connection between them, such as a route, a contest, or a partnership: the Chicago–Denver route, a 5–4 decision. Third, it connects a prefix or word to a term of two or more words, such as World War II, so that it applies to the whole term: pre–World War II housing. A hyphen there would join pre to World alone. A range that begins with from must finish with to, and a range that begins with between must finish with and. An en dash cannot stand in for either word: from 2019 to 2023, between 2019 and 2023, never from 2019–2023 or between 2019–2023. Each use of the en dash has its own entry, listed under En Dash.
Examples
UseThe museum is open Tuesday–Sunday. (The en dash shows a range and means “through.”)
UseThe New York–London flight was delayed. (The en dash shows the route between the two cities.)
UseThe theater dates from the post–Civil War era. (The en dash connects post to the whole term Civil War, not to Civil alone.)
AvoidThe study ran from 2015–2020. (A range that begins with from must finish with to: from 2015 to 2020.)