I have heard/seen people say/write "She is 5 feet 10 inches tall" and "She is 5-foot-10." But in formal writing, is there a convention? I found both "8-foot-tall" and "nine-feet tall" in online sources.
The bronze, 8-foot-tall LBJ sculpture is slated to be installed at downtown's Little Tranquility Park, bound by Capitol, Walker, Bagby and Smith streets. (source)
Nine-feet tall and bronze, the monument to the famous novelist has been erected in the grassy center of the 13.7-acre park's circular drive. (source)
Answer
When a measurement is used right before the noun it measures, use a hyphen and the singular form of the unit of measurement:
I saw a 95-foot yacht in the harbor.
The 12-mile climb is too arduous for casual visitors.
The monument is in the 13.7-acre park's circular drive.
A dimension can also be included with another hyphen:
I saw a 95-foot-long yacht in the harbor.
The 8-foot-tall sculpture is impressive.
The flagpole is a 25-foot-tall, 3-inch-thick bamboo pipe.
However, when the measurement is used as a predicate, separate from the noun it measures, use the plural form of the unit of measurement. Don't use a hyphen:
The yacht I saw was 95 feet long.
The flagpole is 25 feet tall and 3 inches thick.
I can only finish a climb that's 4 miles or less.
Nine feet tall and bronze, the monument is popular among tourists.
She is 5 feet 10 inches tall.
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