A freeze describes conditions when the temperature at or near the surface is expected to be below 32 degrees. Adjectives such as "severe" or "hard" are used if a cold spell exceeding two days is expected. A hard freeze is when the temperature drops to 28 degrees in areas that don’t usually freeze.

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AP style recommends spelling out body camera for cameras mounted on clothing, generally of law enforcers. When the condensed version appears in headlines or in quotes, it is bodycam, one word.

Revenue models have had a series of disruptions, algorithmic updates and AI features have destabilized search strategies, and social continues to be an enigma.

Our dictionary, Merriam-Webster, defines a snow day as a day when schools and businesses are closed because a lot of snow is falling. Note it's two words, no hyphen.

Our primary dictionary, Merriam-Webster, shows showerhead as one word, no hyphen. apnews.com/article/show...

For dog breed names, follow the spelling and capitalization in Merriam-Webster. For breeds not listed in the dictionary, capitalize words derived from proper nouns; use lowercase elsewhere: basset hound, Boston terrier. apnews.com/article/gift...

The AP Stylebook Workshops will return this year with four weeks of instruction on mechanics and four weeks focusing on the big-picture concerns of creating good content.

As Timothée Chalamet (note the accent!) ping-pongs from one awards season event to another for "Marty Supreme," we're revising our guidance.

The term red carpet applies to the ceremonial arrival area, often outside the event location, where guests arriving at award shows strut their finery, greet fans and give media interviews. That's regardless of whether the carpet is literally red or not. apnews.com/hub/awards-s...

Many AP style fans tell us you still love having a hard copy on your desk. You know Stylebook Online is searchable and updated throughout the year, but you want to use a physical book. We're here for you.

Many AP style fans tell us you still love having a hard copy on your desk. You know Stylebook Online is searchable and updated throughout the year, but you want to use a physical book. We're here for you.

Many AP style fans tell us you still love having a hard copy on your desk. You know Stylebook Online is searchable and updated throughout the year, but you want to use a physical book. We're here for you.

Many AP style fans tell us you still love having a hard copy on your desk. You know Stylebook Online is searchable and updated throughout the year, but you want to use a physical book. We're here for you.

The Stylebook's Western Hemisphere entry defines North America as Canada, Mexico, the United States and the Danish territory of Greenland. It also notes that when the term “North America” is used in more than its continental sense, it also may include the islands of the Caribbean.

The Stylebook's entry on historical periods and events advises capitalizing the names of widely recognized epochs in anthropology, archaeology, geology and history: the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Pliocene Epoch.

AP style generally uses figures for 10 or above, but at the start of a sentence, we spell out a number. For example, the lead of this story spells out 15 because it's the first word of the sentence.

Uncertainty doesn't go far enough to describe the current digital landscape. Revenue models have had a series of disruptions, algorithmic updates and AI features have destabilized search strategies, and social continues to be an enigma.

Either the Olympics or the Olympic Games is correct. Always capitalized. There are Summer Olympics and Winter Olympics, or Summer Games and Winter Games.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is the federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who was born Jan. 15, 1929. The holiday is on the third Monday in January. AP style abbreviates Jr. and Sr. and does not precede them by a comma. Martin Luther King Jr. does not take a comma before Jr.

A government is an established system of political administration: the U.S. government. A regime is a form of political system, generally an oppressive or undemocratic one: an authoritarian regime, a communist regime.

Once you use AP Stylebook Online, you'll wonder why you waited so long. It's searchable and customizable, making it easier to use than flipping through pages marked with notes in the margins. We update it throughout the year as our editors add or change AP style guidance.

Earthquake magnitudes are measures of earthquake size calculated from ground motion recorded by seismometers. The Richter scale, named for Charles F. Richter, is no longer widely used. Magnitudes are usually reported simply as magnitude 6.7 (or 6.7 magnitude), for example.

Located in Atlanta, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. On first reference, use Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Precede with national, federal or U.S. if needed for clarity.

South America includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, and in a purely continental sense, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname. The latter three, however, regard themselves as part of the Caribbean.

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The term electric vehicles describes vehicles that are powered by a battery linked to an electric motor. Other vehicles can run on electricity but also have internal combustion engines.

The Stylebook's drugs entry advises that the slang term coke should appear only in quotations about cocaine. Crack is a refined cocaine in crystalline rock form; mention it separately from cocaine only if pertinent.

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Takeover is one word as both a noun and an adjective. When used as a verb, take over is two words. apnews.com/article/trum...

If you're returning a holiday gift that wasn't quite right for you, how about you put that refund toward an AP Stylebook Online subscription? It's always the right size, and you can even use AP style to guide the thank you note you send to your grandma. store.stylebooks.com/apstylebooko...

Use figures and hyphens for ratios, such as the ratio was 2-to-1, a ratio of 2-to-1, a 2-1 ratio, 1 in 4 voters. As illustrated, the word "to" should be omitted when the numbers precede the word ratio.

AP style now uses accent marks or other diacritical marks with names of people who request them or are widely known to use them, such as Timothée Chalamet or Beyoncé, apnews.com/article/movi...

While your kids are off school, you can try asking them what "6-7" means. We don't know either, but Stylebook editor Anna Jo Bratton did decide we should style it with digits, rather than spell out six and seven as is typical AP style. Also, put it in quotes. apnews.com/article/6-7-...

If your meeting schedule and email volume are lighter than usual this week, how about you sign up for AP Stylebook Online? It's the perfect time to add your team's custom style guide so everyone can search the most current guidance.

AP style does not use a space or hyphen in the terms fundraise, fundraiser or fundraising. We have more detailed guidance in our philanthropy entry, including the difference between nonprofit and not-for-profit designations. apnews.com/article/poll...

We know plenty of people are still working this week. The AP newsroom doesn't shut down, either.

Boxing Day is the post-Christmas holiday on Dec. 26 in British Commonwealth countries. The term came from the practice of giving gift boxes to employees and others.

AP style generally puts the titles of books, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches, and works of art in quotation marks. Exceptions are the Bible, the Quran and other holy books, and books that are primarily catalogs of reference material.

Christmas has a language all its own. It's a time of year when carols are full of old words like hark, yon, deck and don.

When you're writing your out-of-office message, AP Stylebook Online's Ask the Editor says to hyphenate out-of-office as a compound modifier.

Use figures with million, billion or trillion in all except casual uses, such as I'd like to win a billion dollars. But: The nation has 1 million citizens. I need $7 billion. The government ran a deficit of more than $1 trillion.

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Yule and Yuletide are Old English names for the Christmas season. AP style uppercases them, which is an exception to Merriam-Webster's guidance.

Avoid the journalese terms slay, slaying and slain. Use kill, killing or killed instead. See the Stylebook's homicide, murder, manslaughter entry for more guidance.

FIFA is acceptable on first reference for Federation Internationale de Football Association. Refer to it as the international soccer governing body rather than spelling out the French acronym. apnews.com/hub/fifa-wor...

AP style hyphenates year-end as a noun, such as referring to the fiscal year-end, and as an adjective, as in a year-end financial analysis.

The term Affordable Care Act is acceptable on first reference for the health care overhaul that former U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010. On second reference, ACA and Obamacare are acceptable, but some readers may not be familiar with the terms.

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AP style uses the spelling Hanukkah for the Jewish Festival of Lights, an eight-day commemoration of rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians.