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Hello,
What is the meaning of the expression "detail-oriented" and do you need to use a hyphen when writing it? Also, is it an adjective.

Note that the variant 'orientated' is possible in British English.

I think you can look the meaning up for yourself (or work it out from the component parts, or from analogies such as 'profit-oriented').

I believe it should be written with a hyphen.

As for what to call it, it is certainly functioning as an adjective overall. (Again, you could've found this out from searching e.g. the LDOCE for free online: http://www.ldoceonline.com/search/?q=oriented . Note the entry for 'object-oriented'). I guess (off the top of my head) that it woud formally be classed as some sort of compound (noun+adjective) functioning like I say as an adjective overall.

Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
Best wishes