How do you use the word finder?
- Type up to 15 letters in the box. Order does not matter.
- Use a question mark for a blank tile. It can stand for any letter.
- Narrow the list with Starts with, Ends with, Contains or Length.
- Results appear as you type, grouped by length with the longest words at the top.
What can you use it for?
- Board and tile games. Find the longest play from your rack, or the best word that ends on a bonus square.
- Daily word puzzles. Check which words fit a set of letters when you are stuck on a hive or a grid.
- Crosswords. Use Length and Starts with to test words that fit a gap.
- Teaching. Show students how many words hide in one set of letters. It is a quick spelling lesson.
How do blanks work?
A blank stands in for one missing letter. With the letters CAT and one blank, the tool can find CART, CHAT and COAT, since the blank fills the gap. You can use more than one blank, but each one makes the list longer, so add filters to keep it useful.
Why do some words seem missing?
The list holds common and fairly common English words. It leaves out names, places, short forms and rude words. Rare words used only in some tile game lists may not appear. If a word you expect is not shown, check that you typed every letter it needs.
Is it cheating to use a word finder?
That depends on who you play with. In friendly games, many people agree to use it only after a game, to learn words they missed. Used that way, it is a great way to grow your word bank. In a competition, check the rules first.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The tool runs in your browser and loads the word list once. After that, every search is instant, even on a slow connection. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
How big is the word list?
The tool checks your letters against 61,112 English words, from 2 to 15 letters. The list comes from SCOWL, a free word list used by spell checkers, with rude and hurtful words removed. Here is how many words it holds at each length:
| Length | Words |
|---|---|
| 2 letters | 61 |
| 3 letters | 584 |
| 4 letters | 2,291 |
| 5 letters | 4,407 |
| 6 letters | 6,999 |
| 7 letters | 9,586 |
| 8 letters | 10,129 |
| 9 letters | 8,960 |
| 10 letters | 7,143 |
| 11 letters | 4,919 |
| 12 letters | 3,133 |