A quick reference for the terms word game players run into most, from anagram and bingo to tile value and isogram, defined accurately in one place rather than scattered across a dozen pages.
A
Anagram
A word or phrase formed by rearranging every letter of another word or phrase, using each letter exactly once. LISTEN and SILENT are a classic example.
B
Bingo
In Scrabble, playing all seven tiles from your rack in a single turn, which earns a 50 point bonus in addition to the word's own score. Called a bonus play in some other tile games.
Blank tile
A tile with no letter printed on it that can represent any letter the player chooses when played, though it scores zero points regardless of which letter it stands in for.
Boggle path
The sequence of adjacent letter tiles, including diagonal neighbors, traced to spell a word in Boggle. No single tile can be reused twice within the same word.
D
Descrambler
A tool or process that reorders a jumbled group of letters into a real word. Functionally the same task as unscrambling, just the more common phrase when solving one specific jumble.
Dictionary (word game)
The specific word list a game or tournament uses to decide which words are valid. Different games and regions use different official dictionaries, which is why a word can be valid in one and rejected in another.
E
ENABLE
Enhanced North American Benchmark Lexicon, a free, public domain word list built specifically for word game software, used as this site's dictionary.
I
Isogram
A word in which no letter repeats, with every letter appearing exactly once, such as UNCOPYRIGHTABLE.
L
Letter distribution
The specific count of each letter tile included in a word game's full tile set, which varies from game to game even among games that otherwise play similarly.
P
Palindrome
A word or phrase that reads identically forwards and backwards, such as LEVEL or RADAR.
Pangram
In Spelling Bee, a word that uses every one of the puzzle's seven letters at least once, earning a bonus. The term is also used more broadly for any sentence using every letter of the alphabet.
Parallel play
Placing a new word directly alongside an existing one on the board so that it simultaneously forms a second valid word running the other direction, a common way to score extra points with short words.
R
Rack
The set of letter tiles a player is currently holding and can choose from on their turn, typically seven tiles in Scrabble, Words with Friends, and similar games.
S
SOWPODS / Collins Scrabble Words
The official Scrabble word list used in tournament play across most of the world outside North America, maintained by Collins.
Sub-anagram
A shorter word formed from only some of a larger set of letters, rather than all of them. This is what a general unscramble search returns alongside true anagrams.
T
Tile value
The number of points a specific letter tile is worth when played, typically higher for less common letters like Q, X, and Z.
TWL / NWL
Tournament Word List, later renamed NASPA Word List, the official Scrabble dictionary used in North American tournament play. Licensed and not freely redistributable, unlike the open ENABLE list.
W
Wildcard
A symbol, typically a question mark or asterisk in this site's tools, used to represent an unknown or blank letter when searching for words.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between an anagram and a sub-anagram?
A true anagram uses every letter provided, no more and no fewer. A sub-anagram, what a general unscramble search returns, uses only some of the letters to form a shorter word.
What does bingo mean outside of the separate bingo game?
In Scrabble, a bingo is playing all seven rack tiles in a single turn, earning a 50 point bonus. It has nothing to do with the numbered-ball bingo game beyond sharing a name.
Why do different word games use different dictionaries?
Each word game or tournament organization maintains its own official word list, built by different groups at different times. There's no single universal word game dictionary.
Is this glossary specific to one word game?
No, it covers terms that come up across Scrabble, Words with Friends, Wordfeud, Wordle, Spelling Bee, Boggle, and beyond, since many of these concepts overlap between games.