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Word Finder

The word begins with these letters.

The word ends with these letters.

The word has these letters together, in this order.

Use _, ? or * for each unknown letter, for example c_t__. Each one stands for exactly one letter, so a pattern also fixes the length.

Runs in your browser.

Fill in one or more of the boxes, or a pattern such as c_t__, and press Search to list every word that matches, longest first.

How to use the Word Finder

The Word Finder searches the word list by what you already know about a word: how it starts, how it ends, letters inside it, its length, or a pattern with gaps. It suits crosswords, word puzzles and board games where some letters are fixed.

  1. Fill in at least one of the five boxes: Starts with, Ends with, Contains, Length or Pattern. Searching with every box empty only asks you to fill one in.
  2. For a pattern, write the letters you know and put _, ? or * in each unknown place. The pattern c_t__ matches five-letter words with c first and t third.
  3. Fill in more than one box to narrow the list. A word must match every box you use.
  4. Press Search. Words are grouped by length, longest first, and each word shows its score.

Tips for better results

  • Start with one box and add another only if the list is still long. Each extra box removes words, and the status line says how many words match.
  • Use Contains when you know letters but not where they sit, and Pattern when you know exactly where each known letter goes.
  • Keep the Length box in step with a pattern. The pattern already fixes the length, so a different length finds no words.
  • The three gap marks _, ? and * work the same way, so type whichever is easiest on your keyboard.
  • If you are unsure of the length, try a short pattern first, then add marks and search again.

Questions and answers

How does a pattern work?

Each _, ? or * stands for exactly one letter, never for a run of letters or for nothing. A pattern of five characters therefore finds only five-letter words, so write one mark for every unknown letter.

What does Contains match?

Contains matches letters that sit together, in the order you typed them. Contains ear matches clear and early but not eager, which has the same three letters spread apart.

In what order are the words listed, and how many are shown?

Words are listed longest first, then by score from the highest, then from A to Z. Scores use the standard English Scrabble letter values. At most 1,000 words are shown, and the status line always gives the total, so you can add a box to narrow a long result.

Where do the words come from?

From the ENABLE word list, which holds 168,551 words of 2 to 15 letters. It lacks some recent words and is not the official list of any game. The search runs in your browser, the word list is downloaded once, and a shared search carries its boxes in the link's address, which is sent to the site's host when someone opens it.