Escaping a character in TeX equation?

Question

I want to use a variable name containing dash in TeX equation. However, dash gets interpreted as minus sign. Anyone any idea of how to escape the character?

Answer 1

Using \textrm{-} does not work ?

Answer 2

Put the whole variable name inside \text.

Or better, make a macro for variable names which uses \text. Using a macro will help you get a uniform style that you can easily change later.

Answer 3

Type \hbox{-} in TeX equation. It is faster to compile than \text{-}.

Answer 4

Putting

\catcode`\-=11

as the first declaration in the scope of the equation will make - into a normal letter character.