Word Lists & Reference

Essential word lists for Scrabble, Words With Friends, and word games — curated and explained.

The Complete Two-Letter Word List

Two-letter words are the backbone of Scrabble and Words With Friends strategy. They let you play parallel to existing words, hook onto tiles, and access premium squares. Memorizing this full list is the single most impactful step for improving your word game performance. Below are all accepted two-letter words with brief definitions.

AARough, cindery lava
ABAn abdominal muscle
ADAn advertisement
AEOne (Scottish)
AGAgriculture (informal)
AHAn exclamation
AIA three-toed sloth
ALA type of tree (East Indian)
AMFirst-person present of 'be'
ANAn indefinite article
ARThe letter R
ASA comparison word
ATA preposition
AWAn exclamation
AXA tool for chopping
AYA word expressing affirmation
BAThe soul in ancient Egyptian belief
BETo exist
BIA bisexual person (informal)
BOA friend (informal)
BYA preposition
CHA type of tea (variant)
DAA Burmese title
DOTo perform
EAA river (dialect)
EDEducation (informal)
EEAn eye (Scottish dialect)
EFThe letter F
EHAn exclamation
ELAn elevated railway
EMA type of dash
ENA typesetting space
ERAn exclamation of hesitation
ESThe letter S
ETA past tense of 'eat' (dialect)
EXA former partner
FAA musical note
FEA Hebrew letter
GIA martial arts uniform
GOTo move or proceed
HAAn exclamation of laughter
HEA pronoun
HIA greeting
HMAn expression of thought
HOAn exclamation
IDThe ego in Freudian theory
IFA conditional word
INA preposition
ISThird-person singular of 'be'
ITA pronoun
JAYes (German)
JOA sweetheart (Scottish)
KAThe spiritual self (Egyptian)
KIVital energy (Japanese)
LAA musical note
LIA Chinese unit of distance
LOAn exclamation (look!)
MAA mother (informal)
MEA pronoun
MIA musical note
MMAn expression of satisfaction
MOA moment (informal)
MUA Greek letter
MYA possessive pronoun
NANo (Scottish/dialect)
NEBorn as (archaic)
NOA negative word
NUA Greek letter
ODA hypothetical force
OEA whirlwind (Scottish)
OFA preposition
OHAn exclamation
OIAn exclamation to get attention
OKAn expression of agreement
OMA sacred Hindu mantra
ONA preposition
OPAn operation (informal)
ORA conjunction
OSA bone (anatomical)
OUAn extinct bird (Hawaiian)
OWAn exclamation of pain
OXA domesticated bovine
OYAn exclamation
PAA father (informal)
PEA Hebrew letter
PIA Greek letter
POA chamber pot (informal)
QIVital energy (Chinese)
REA musical note
SHAn exclamation for silence
SIA musical note (variant of ti)
SOA conjunction/adverb
STA stone (informal)
TAThank you (informal, British)
TEA musical note (variant)
TIA musical note
TOA preposition
UHAn expression of hesitation
UMAn expression of hesitation
UNOne (French, used in English)
UPAn adverb/preposition
USA pronoun
UTA musical note (archaic)
WEA pronoun
WOWoe (variant)
XIA Greek letter
XUA Vietnamese monetary unit
YAYou (informal)
YEYou (archaic)
YOA greeting (informal)
ZAPizza (slang)
ZEA pronoun (gender-neutral)

Note: This list reflects the TWL (Tournament Word List) used in North American Scrabble. Some words may differ in the Collins/SOWPODS dictionary used internationally.

Q Words Without a U — Your Scrabble Lifesavers

Few things are more frustrating than being stuck with a Q and no U. These words are essential memorization for competitive players — they let you play the Q strategically instead of being forced to swap tiles or hold it indefinitely. Every Q-without-U word here is tournament-valid.

QABALAA mystical tradition (variant of Kabbalah)
QABALASPlural of qabala
QABALAHA mystical tradition (variant)
QABALAHSPlural of qabalah
QADIA Muslim judge
QADISPlural of qadi
QATAn evergreen shrub (khat)
QATSPlural of qat
QINDARAn Albanian monetary unit
QINDARKAAlbanian currency
QINDARSPlural of qindar
QOPHA Hebrew letter
QOPHSPlural of qoph
FAQIRA Muslim or Hindu mendicant (variant of fakir)
FAQIRSPlural of faqir
FAQIA Muslim judge (variant)
FAQISPlural of faqi
MBAQAA South African tree
MBAQANGAA style of South African music
SHEQELAn ancient Hebrew unit of weight/money
SHEQALIMPlural of sheqel
TRANQA tranquilizer (informal)
TRANQSPlural of tranq
QWERTYA standard keyboard layout

Famous High-Scoring Scrabble Words

These legendary words have made history in Scrabble tournaments. While some are rare, knowing them can help you recognize high-value plays when your tile rack aligns. Use the word finder above to check if any of these are formable from your current letters.

oxyphenbutazone

The highest-scoring theoretical Scrabble word — 1,778 points with bonuses

quixotry

Famously played for 365 points in a tournament (2007)

muzjiks

Highest-scoring opening word — 128 points with bonuses

caziques

Scored 392 points in a 1982 tournament

benzoxycamphor

A massive theoretical word, 60+ points base

syzygy

Three pairs — no standard vowels, very rare

cwm

A Welsh-origin word, no standard vowels

juxtapositional

A 16-letter leviathan word

peziza

A genus of fungi — no standard vowels

zenzizenzizenzic

The mathematical eighth power — 9 Z's

How to Use These Lists Effectively

  • Drill the two-letter words first — they account for a disproportionate number of real-game plays.
  • Keep the Q-without-U list handy — it turns the Q from a liability into a scoring weapon.
  • Practice with real tile racks — use the word finder above with your actual tiles to build pattern recognition.
  • Learn word hooks — knowing what single letter extends a word (e.g., "EAT" + "S" = "EATS") opens parallel plays.

Want to practice? Head to the word finder and enter your tile rack letters.