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WordUnscrambler

Check Dictionary

Type any word to see whether it's a valid Scrabble (TWL) word. We also show its letter length and Scrabble & Words With Friends point totals.

Letters only. We check against a 275,000-word Scrabble dictionary.

What Does "Valid" Really Mean?

Word games never accept every English word — each one is built on a specific official dictionary. Competitive Scrabble in North America follows the TWL (Tournament Word List), while international play uses the longer SOWPODS list. Words With Friends uses its own ENABLE-based dictionary. Our checker consults a 275,000-word TWL list, so a "valid" result here means the word is legal in standard Scrabble. A word that fails this checker might still appear in everyday prose — it simply is not on the tournament list.

Key Definitions

  • TWL (Tournament Word List) — the official Scrabble word list used in North American tournament play, also known as NASPAWordList.
  • SOWPODS — the combined British and international Scrabble word list, used everywhere outside North America.
  • ENABLE — the Enhanced North American Benchmark Lexicon, the open-source dictionary that underpins Words With Friends.
  • Scrabble points — the score a word earns when each letter's face value (printed on the tile) is summed; blanks score zero.
  • WWF points — the Words With Friends scoring system, which assigns slightly different letter values than Scrabble (for example, H is worth 3 in WWF but 4 in Scrabble).

Why Two-Letter Words Matter So Much

Short two-letter entries such as QI, ZA, AA, and OE are gold for Scrabble players because they unlock parallel plays — a single tile dropped beside an existing word can form two new words at once, doubling the score from one placement. Knowing which two-letter words are valid, and how much each tile is worth, is often the single biggest difference between a casual player and a serious one. Run any candidate through the checker above and the point totals for both Scrabble and Words With Friends appear instantly, so you can compare scoring across games without doing the arithmetic by hand.

Using the Checker

  • Enter a single word (letters only, no spaces) and press Check Word.
  • A green checkmark means the word is in the TWL dictionary; a red X means it is not.
  • For valid words, Scrabble points, WWF points, and letter count are shown at a glance.
  • Click through to descramble any word and find every sub-word it contains.
  • Want to find all words that start or end with a specific letter? Browse our 5-letter word lists.

Common Reasons a "Real" Word Fails

Capitalised proper nouns (country names, brand names, given names) are never accepted, even though they are obviously real words. Hyphenated forms and words requiring apostrophes (such as contractions) are also out, because Scrabble tiles carry only single letters. Slang that has not yet been promoted into the official list — however widespread in speech — will likewise show as invalid here. When in doubt, the checker's verdict is the one that will hold up at a tournament table.