September 18, 2026

Play Other Games

Word Finder: Search Words by Letter Pattern

Know some letters but not the word? Type what you have, use a question mark for each blank, and this finder lists every word that fits. It searches 46,600 English words from three to nine letters, and it runs in your browser, so nothing is sent anywhere.

It maps directly onto a Wordle grid: green letters go in the pattern, yellow letters go in “must contain”, and gray letters go in “must not contain”.

Try one:

    How to use the word finder

    1. Type the letters you know in the pattern box, in their real positions. Put a question mark wherever you do not know the letter yet. ?A?E? means five letters with A second and E fourth.
    2. Add letters you know are in the word but not where, in “must contain”.
    3. Add letters you have ruled out in “must not contain”. Type them all together, for example RSTLN.
    4. Press Enter or tap Find words.
    5. Tap any result to copy it.

    If you leave the pattern empty, the word length dropdown decides how long the results are. If you type a pattern, its length wins and the dropdown is ignored.

    Using it with Wordle

    The three boxes line up with the three tile colours.

    Wordle tileWhat it meansWhere it goes
    Greenright letter, right spotPattern box, in that position
    Yellowright letter, wrong spotMust contain
    Grayletter is not in the wordMust not contain

    Say you opened with CRANE and got a green A in position three, a yellow R, and gray C, N and E. You would enter ??A?? as the pattern, R in must contain, and CNE in must not contain. One caution: if a letter is green or yellow somewhere, do not also put it in the gray box, because Wordle greys a repeated letter when the word contains only one of it.

    Want to play instead of solve? Try the practice game, Dordle or Octordle.

    Other things it is good for

    • Crossword gaps. A clue with the pattern ???CK gives 56 answers to scan.
    • Hangman. Put the letters you have guessed wrong into “must not contain” and the shape of the word into the pattern.
    • Word ladders and puzzles where you need every word of one length that fits a shape.
    • Checking a hunch. Type a whole word with no question marks and you will see whether it is in the list at all.

    Frequently asked questions

    Is the word finder free?

    Yes. No sign up, no download, no limit.

    What does the question mark do?

    It stands for one unknown letter. You can also type an underscore or a full stop and it will be treated the same way.

    How many words does it search?

    46,600 English words between three and nine letters, from a standard American English spelling dictionary. Abbreviations, Roman numerals and proper nouns are not included.

    Why do I get no results?

    Usually a letter is in both the pattern and the “must not contain” box, or the gray list is too long. Remove one gray letter at a time and search again.

    Can I search for words of a set length with no pattern?

    Yes. Leave the pattern empty, choose a length, and add the letters you know.

    Are my letters sent anywhere?

    No. The word list downloads once and the matching happens in your browser.

    More word tools on Try Hard Wordle