What is a word unscrambler?
A word unscrambler turns a jumble of letters into every valid word those letters can spell. Enter up to 15 letters, including up to three blank tiles, and Unknot Words lists every matching word from the US (NWL) or UK (CSW) Scrabble dictionary, grouped by word length so you can jump straight to the longest options.
By Unknot Words · Last updated
How to unscramble letters
- Type your letters in any order, for example the seven tiles on your rack. Duplicates count: two Es let a word use E twice.
- Add blanks if you have them. Type
_or a space for each blank tile (up to three). A blank can stand for any letter. - Narrow the results (optional). Use Starts with, Ends with and Contains to require particular letters, and Length to show a single word size.
- Pick a dictionary and search. Results are grouped by word length; the longest group is usually the place to look for big plays.
A worked example
The letters AEINRST are famous among Scrabble players because they form more seven-letter words than almost any other rack. Unscramble them with the length set to 7 and you get ANESTRI, ANTSIER, NASTIER, RATINES, RETAINS, RETINAS, RETSINA, STAINER and STEARIN. Clear the length filter and the US dictionary returns more than 270 shorter words as well, from six-letter words like TISANE down to two-letter words.
Now swap the I for a blank: AENRST_. The blank opens up words such as SENATOR and TREASON, where the blank becomes an O. This is why blanks are so valuable in Scrabble — they turn a near miss into a 50-point bingo.
Using the filters
| Filter | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Starts with | Only words beginning with these letters (up to 5) | ex finds EXIT, EXTRA… |
| Ends with | Only words ending with these letters (up to 5) | ing finds words ending in -ING |
| Contains | Words containing this sequence; _ matches any one letter | x_s finds words with X, any letter, then S |
| Length | Only words of exactly this many letters (1–15) | 5 for a five-letter answer |
The filters work together with your letters. For example, if a crossword answer is six letters long and ends in -ED, enter your candidate letters, set Ends with to ed and Length to 6.
Where an unscrambler helps
- Scrabble and Words with Friends: list every word your rack can play, then choose by length, letter values and the board.
- Jumbles and anagram puzzles: newspaper jumbles, cryptic crossword anagram clues and escape-room word locks.
- Learning and teaching: students can practise spelling patterns by seeing how many words hide in one set of letters. See word games in the classroom for activity ideas.
Want to get faster on your own? Our guide to unscrambling words by hand covers the prefix, suffix and consonant-cluster tricks that strong players use. If the letters must go in particular positions, the segment-based word finder is the better tool.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between unscrambling and an anagram?
An anagram uses every letter exactly once, as LISTEN becomes SILENT. The unscrambler also shows shorter words that use only some of your letters. To see only full anagrams, set the Length filter to the number of letters you entered.
How do blank tiles work?
Type an underscore (_) or a space for a blank tile. Each blank stands for any single letter, and you can use up to three blanks in a search.
Do I have to use all of my letters?
No. The unscrambler finds words that use some or all of your letters, grouped by length so the longest words are easy to spot. Set the Length filter to see only words of one size, such as seven-letter bingos.
What do the starts with, ends with and contains filters do?
They narrow results to words that begin with, end with, or include specific letters, up to five letters each. The contains filter also accepts _ as a single-letter wildcard, so x_s matches words containing x, any letter, then s.
How many letters can I enter?
You can enter up to 15 letters, including blanks, which covers a full Scrabble rack plus letters already on the board.
Are the results official Scrabble words?
Results come from the NWL (North American) or CSW (Collins, international) tournament word lists, depending on the dictionary you select. Words with Friends uses a different list, so a few results may not be accepted there.