Word List

The Yahoo! Word List

The Yahoo! word list covers terms related to communications, technology, branding, and other topics that our U.S. editors have encountered frequently. Following is a healthy sampling of the full Yahoo! word list. (We update the online list quarterly—see what’s new.)

These are the decisions that Yahoo! has come to after years of writing and editing for the Web. You may naturally make different choices and have different entries, but our word list can be useful as a springboard or as an additional reference.

  • -esque
    Close up words with this suffix unless doing so creates a readability issue, as with double vowels. Examples: Reaganesque, Dali-esque.
    Added on May 12, 2011
  • e-
    In general, insert a hyphen between this prefix and root words, especially if they are new. Exception: email, which is now widely accepted as one word. Examples: e-book, e-business, e-card, e-commerce, e-reader, e-tail.
  • e.g.
    Abbreviation meaning for example. Note periods. Don’t include a space after the first period. OK to use when space is a consideration; otherwise, use for example, for instance, such as. If used, include a comma after the last period. Example: Enter a search term (e.g., recipes, horoscopes, gifts) into the box.
  • Earth, earth
    Capitalize when used as the proper name of the planet. Lowercase in all other uses. Examples: The third planet from the sun is Earth. The earth was ready for planting.
  • eBay
    Note capitalization of this company name. See “Capitalization” for information on how to treat names such as this in a title or a sentence.
  • email (n., adj., v.)
    One word, no hyphen. Plural: email messages and emails are both acceptable.
  • ePub
    Short for electronic publication. An open-standard e-book file format that can be read on various reading applications and hardware devices. Example: The style guide is available in the open-standard ePub format.
    Added on October 21, 2010
  • ESP
    Abbreviation for email service provider. Abbreviation OK to use after initial explanation. Plural: ESPs.
  • Ethernet
    Note capitalization.
  • EULA
    Abbreviation for end user license agreement; pronounced “you-la.” Abbreviation OK to use after initial explanation or when context makes the meaning clear. Example: You must sign the EULA before installing the program.
  • EV
    Abbreviation for electric vehicle. Abbreviation OK to use after initial explanation.
  • ex.
    Note period. Acceptable abbreviation for example when space is tight or in contexts where many examples are used (such as in help documents) and e.g. is insufficient or likely to be misunderstood. Example: Some user-interface elements (for ex., buttons) should always use title-case capitalization. Ex.: A button with the text “See more info” should read “See More Info”.
  • ExpressCard (adj.)
    Trademarked name for a PCMCIA hardware standard and for related hardware devices, such as a card that you can plug into a computer to provide memory storage, wireless connectivity, or other features. Plural: ExpressCard modules. Example: The computer comes with an ExpressCard/34 card slot. Insert the ExpressCard module into the ExpressCard slot.
  • eye tracking (n.), eye-tracking (adj.)
    Two words when used as a noun, hyphenated when used as an adjective. Example: Eye-tracking studies give us a clue about how people scan webpages.

Build your own word list

A word list is an important part of a site’s style guide. It tracks your decisions, helps you enforce them to maintain your site’s voice and editorial standards, and keeps editors from having to make the same kinds of decisions over and over again—possibly coming to contradictory conclusions each time.
Build your own word list