IS YOUR WORD AN OFFICIAL SCRABBLE ONE?

The following form will check to see if the word entered exists within several different Scrabble word games as well as Words with Friends.

VALIDATE!

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Preparing for a Scrabble tournament? Trying to end an argument about whether a word is fair game in Words with Friends? You’ve come to the right place! Our Word Checker tool can quickly and easily show you whether a word is playable according to a range of official game dictionaries. 

How to Use the Word Checker

1. Type a word into the search bar. Enter the word you’re searching for, then click ‘validate’. Be sure to check your spelling, especially on less common words.
2. Check the results. Color-coded results will pop up below the search bar, indicating dictionaries which include the word in green, and dictionaries where it’s absent in red.
3. Look at the related links for more information. To learn more about the word you’ve searched, check the ‘related links’ box below the results. Our tool includes information about different definitions for your word as well as lists of related words.

Dictionaries Included in Our Tool

There are a lot of dictionaries in the world, and our tool contains a good chunk of them. Below is a list of the dictionaries this word checker will search, alongside an explanation of what the dictionaries are used for.

1. Words with Friends 2020: The definitive rulebook when playing Words with Friends, this dictionary contains all the words permissible for your next Words with Friends binge. Reference this dictionary if you’re trying to resolve a WWF game dispute.
2. Scrabble US: This dictionary spells out all official American Scrabble words, according to Scrabble themselves. It can be a great source of ideas for your next game as well as an argument-settler.
3. Scrabble UK/Global: Just like the Scrabble US dictionary, this dictionary spells out all the official Scrabble words for international play.
4. Official Tournament and Club Word List 2016: From 1988 to 2018, this dictionary was used as the official word list for competitive gameplay of Scrabble in the U.S. The 2016 version is the most-recently-updated version of the list. It was used until 2018, when the NASPA word list took over as the official gameplay dictionary.
5. Official Tournament and Club Word List 2006: An earlier version of the Official Tournament and Club Word List, which was used to guide gameplay from 2006-2016.
6. Official Tournament and Club Word List 1998: The earliest version of the Official Tournament and Club Word List, which was used to guide gameplay from 1998-2006.
7. Enable1 Dictionary: Another Scrabble resource, this dictionary contains some of the most popular Scrabble words.
8. Letterpress Dictionary: This dictionary includes the 300,000+ words acceptable for play in the Letterpress Word Game.
9. English International Dictionary (SOWPODS): This Scrabble word list combines both British and American words. It's used in all English-speaking countries aside from the United States, Thailand, Israel, and Canada.

Why Different Dictionaries Include Different Words

While many common words are included in all dictionaries, there are also plenty of inconsistencies between sources. This is a natural consequence of the evolving nature of language. As humans, we’re constantly coming up with new ways to describe things or new things to describe, which means dictionaries are constantly growing. Ultimately, it’s up to the discretion of individual dictionaries when to add a new word to their dictionary. Think of it this way: if we included every word anyone had ever said in a dictionary, that dictionary would include thousands of nonsensical entries. On the other hand, once we use a word enough, we want to make sure it’s officially recognized. Can you imagine if we refused to add new words to dictionaries? We wouldn’t recognize the validity of commonly-used words like ‘telephone’ and ‘internet.’

As a compromise between these two extremes, words are generally added to dictionaries once they’re ‘widely used’ within a group of people and are considered to have ‘staying power’, i.e. the word is likely to remain in use in many years.

Of course, it’s not necessarily easy to determine what constitutes ‘widespread use’ of a word, nor is it easy to anticipate which words will have staying power. Questions over these requirements are what can lead to discrepancies between dictionaries.

Some dictionaries are more likely to include new words than others. Longer dictionaries, for instance, tend to include more words than compressed or pocket dictionaries. Likewise, some dictionaries are known for being more proactive about including new words, including the Oxford Dictionary, which was the first dictionary to include the term ‘selfie’ in 2013 and in April 2020 became one of the first dictionaries to add new COVID language to its books.

Looking for New Words to Play at Your Next Game?

If these dictionaries have made you determined to expand your Scrabble vocabulary, you're in luck! The Word Finder has its own Scrabble Word Lists containing a host of strong Scrabble words. From lists of two- or three-letter words to words containing hard-to-use letters, studying up on this new vocab can help you dominate your next Scrabble game.