Crossword Solver

What Is a Crossword Solver?

A crossword solver is a pattern-matching tool that finds words based on the letters you already know and the positions you don't. You enter a pattern using known letters and underscores for blanks — like _A_E or H??SE — and the tool returns every valid English word that fits that exact structure.

This crossword solver searches a 227,000-word dictionary entirely in your browser. Results appear in under 30 milliseconds with no server calls, no signup, and no data leaving your device. Every result includes Scrabble and Words With Friends point values, and unknown letters are highlighted in orange so you can see exactly which positions were filled in.

How to Use the Crossword Solver

1. Enter your pattern: Type the letters you know in their correct positions. Use _ or ? for each letter you don't know. For example, type H__SE for a 5-letter word starting with H and ending in SE.
2. Set the word length: The tool auto-detects the length from your pattern. You can also manually pick a length from 2 to 15 letters using the length buttons if you want to override it.
3. Review the matches: Press Enter or click the search button. All matching words appear in a grid with Scrabble and Words With Friends scores. Unknown letters are highlighted in orange.
4. Filter and sort results: Sort alphabetically or by Scrabble/WWF score. Use the "must contain" filter to narrow results when you know extra letters from crossing words.

Who Is This For?

• Crossword puzzle solvers stuck on a stubborn clue who know some letters from crossing words but can't figure out the answer — this tool narrows hundreds of possibilities down to a handful of real candidates.
• Competitive crossword players preparing for tournaments who want to verify that a word fits a specific letter pattern before committing ink to paper in a timed solve.
• Teachers and students using crossword puzzles for vocabulary exercises who need a quick reference when the answer key isn't available or when building custom puzzles from scratch.

Key Benefits

• 100% private — your crossword patterns never leave your browser. The dictionary loads once and all matching happens locally on your device.
• Completely free — no subscription, no premium tier, no limits on searches. Use it as many times as you need across an entire Sunday puzzle.
• No account required — open the page and start searching immediately. No email, no signup, no cookies tracking your puzzle progress.
• Visual pattern tiles — your pattern is displayed as crossword-style letter tiles with blanks clearly marked, so you can confirm your input matches the puzzle grid before searching.

Common Use Cases

Solving newspaper crosswords: You're working through a daily crossword and have 3 out of 5 letters filled in from crossing words. Enter the pattern with blanks for the missing positions to see every word that fits, then use the clue to pick the right answer.

Crossword puzzle construction: Puzzle builders need to find words that fit specific grid patterns while intersecting with other entries. This tool generates all candidates for a given pattern, making grid-fill decisions faster and more reliable.

Word game strategy: Beyond crosswords, this pattern-matching approach works for any word game where you know certain letter positions — including word search puzzles, hangman, and fill-in-the-blank vocabulary quizzes.

Settling debates: When two people disagree about whether a particular word exists, enter the pattern and check the results. The 227,000-word dictionary covers standard English words accepted in competitive word games.

Frequently Asked Questions