Enter a pattern above to see matching words.
How to use the crossword solver
Count the squares
The pattern must be exactly as long as the answer. Five squares means five characters.
Fill in what you know
Type the letters you're sure of in their positions and a ? for every blank square.
Pick the best fit
Bold words are common in everyday English. Check each candidate against the clue and its crossings.
Pattern examples
| Pattern | Finds | For example |
|---|---|---|
?A?I? | 5 letters, A second, I fourth | RADIO, PANIC, BASIC |
CR??? | 5 letters starting with CR | CRAFT, CROWN, CRISP |
????ING | 7 letters ending in ING | RUNNING, FEELING |
??X?? | 5 letters with X in the middle | TAXES, BOXER, MIXED |
Only have a jumble of letters? Try the anagram solver. Looking for words that start or end with certain letters? Use the word finder. Or look up full clue answers.
Solver FAQ
How do I use the crossword solver?
Type the answer pattern with a question mark for each unknown square — for example ?A?I? for a five-letter word with A second and I fourth. Add the clue if you like: when it matches a clue in our database, those answers are shown first.
What word list does the solver use?
The solver searches 172,766 words from the public-domain ENABLE word list, ordered by how common each word is in everyday English, so the likeliest answers appear first. Proper nouns and abbreviations only appear when they're part of our clue database.
Can I search for multi-word answers?
Yes — ignore the spaces and enter the answer as one run of letters. For a 3,4 answer like “AT EASE”, enter seven characters, e.g. AT?A??.
Why isn’t the answer I expected listed?
Check that the pattern has exactly as many characters as the grid has squares and that each known letter is in the right place. Very new slang, brand names and people’s names may be missing from the dictionary.