Words Containing Letters
Enter the letters a word must contain and choose whether they can be in any order, must sit side by side, or must follow a sequence. Exclude letters, set a length and copy the results.
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marks common everyday words. Matched letters are highlighted; small numbers are word scores using standard letter tile values. Click a word to copy it. Use ? for any one letter in Together mode.
How to use the Words Containing Letters
- Type the letters the word must contain, for example qz or ough.
- Choose a mode: any order, together in this order, or in this order with gaps.
- Narrow it down with Also must include, Exclude letters, Position and length.
- Pick a sort order, such as most common or highest word score.
- Click a word to copy it, or copy or download the whole list.
Which mode should I use?
| You know… | Mode | Example input | Example matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Some letters are in the word, order unknown | All letters, any order | r, a, e | area, water, heart, year |
| A letter appears twice | All letters, any order | oo | school, photo, motor, cookbook |
| A spelling chunk such as a digraph | Together, in this order | ph | phone, graph, elephant |
| A pattern with an unknown letter | Together, in this order | a?e | game, table, water |
| The order of letters but not neighbours | In this order, gaps allowed | c, a, t | cat, coat, chart, contact |
| A chunk that never starts or ends the word | Together + Position: inside | ll | yellow, balloon, village |
Ideas for using the word finder
- Word puzzles: put the letters you know are in the answer in the letters box, the ones you have ruled out in Exclude letters, and set the length. Sorting by Most common puts likely answers first.
- Spelling and phonics practice: collect words with a digraph or blend such as sh, ch, igh or ough using Together mode, then tick Common words only for familiar examples.
- Board games: enter your tiles in any-order mode with Max length set to the number of tiles you hold, then sort by Highest word score. Remember this lists words that contain your letters; they may need extra letters from the board.
- Writing and naming: find words that share a sound chunk for alliteration, poems, brand names or song lyrics.
Rare letters worth searching for
Q, Z, J and X are the least common letters in English words, so searching for them gives short, interesting lists. Most English words with Q follow it with U (queen, equal); words with Q and no U do exist but are rare and mostly borrowed from other languages. Try the letters q with Exclude u to see them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the three modes?
All letters, any order only checks that every letter appears somewhere in the word (qz finds quiz, quartz and squeeze). Together, in this order looks for the exact sequence side by side, so ough finds through and enough. In this order, gaps allowed needs the letters in sequence but lets other letters sit between them, so c-a-t matches cat, coat and cart.
How do I find words with two of the same letter?
Type the letter twice. In any-order mode ee requires at least two Es (green, every, sleeve). In Together mode ee requires a double E side by side (green, sleep, but not every).
How do I find 5 letter words containing certain letters?
Type the letters, then set both Min length and Max length to 5. Add any letters you have ruled out to Exclude letters, which is how many people narrow down answers in daily word puzzles.
What does the Position option do?
In the Together and In-order modes you can require the letters to begin the word, end the word or sit inside it (not touching the first or last letter). In any-order mode the letters can be anywhere, so Position is turned off.
What are the small numbers on each word?
Each number is the word's base score using the standard English letter tile values used by popular crossword board games, from 1 point for letters such as E and S to 10 points for Q and Z. Board bonuses are not included.
Which words are included?
About 109,000 English words in American spelling, including plurals and verb forms, but no proper nouns, abbreviations or hyphenated words. It is not an official tournament list, so a specific game may accept or reject some words.
Is anything I type sent to a server?
No. The word list is downloaded once and all searching happens in your browser.
Are all the tools on FreeToolCabin tested for quality and accuracy?
Yes! Every tool on our site undergoes automated Q/A testing in real browser environments to ensure high precision, correct output, and zero errors. If you happen to spot a bug or have a suggestion, please contact us at [email protected] and our team will review it right away.