Although seeing the letter X arrive on your rack may not be the most pleasant of surprises, this handy little cross could quite easily see you on your way to a win.
The letter ‘X’ provides the highest scoring two-letter words, with at least 9 points awarded for the Greek letter names ‘Ax’, ‘Ex’, ‘Ox’, ‘Xi’ and the Vietnamese coin ‘Xu’; whilst with ‘Zax’ (a hatchet-like tool) attaining a minimum of 19 points, it also gives you the highest scoring three-letter word.
In fact, X is the best of the high scorers: slip an X next to an already-played vowel, especially on a premium square, and earn up 30, 40 or even 50 points for a two-letter word.
Here are a few options for using up your Xs, and other tricky characters such as Q, Y and Z.
3 Letters:
PYX: “the container in which the consecrated bread of the Eucharist is kept.”
15 points minimum
OXY: “a combining form meaning “acute,” “acid,” used in the formation of compound words.”
13 points minimum
4 Letters:
XYST: “a long portico in ancient Greece or a Roman covered walkway.”
14 points minimum
FOXY: “resembling or likened to a fox; informal, (of a woman) sexually attractive.”
19 points minimum
JINX: “a person or thing that brings bad luck.”
21 points minimum
5 Letters:
ZAXES: “pl. the axis along which values of z are measured and at which both x and y equal zero.”
21 points minimum
XEROX: “a xerographic copying process or machine.”
19 points minimum
KYLIX: “a shallow two-handled drinking vessel used in ancient Greece.”
19 points minimum
6 Letters:
EXEQUY: “funeral rites or ceremonies.”
25 points minimum
7 Letters:
ASPHYXY: “asphyxiation, typically resulting in death.”
25 points minimum(up to 75 on premium squares)
ZOOTAXY: “the science of the classification of animals.”
26 points minimum
8 Letters:
QUIXOTRY: “A wild, visionary idea, an eccentric notion or act.”
27 points minimum
In 2006 Michael Cresta broke the record for highest single play, scoring 365 points with QUIXOTRY
MAXIMISE: “to make as large or great as possible or to make the best use of.”
28 points minimum(up to 78 on premium squares)
9 Letters:
EXOENZYME: “an enzyme that is secreted by a cell and acts outside of that cell”
30 points minimum
15 Letters:
OXYPHENBUTAZONE: “a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.”
41 points minimum
This is theoretically the highest possible scoring word under legal US Scrabble tournament rules, scoring 1,780 points across three triple-word-score squares, joining seven tiles to eight already-played tiles.
All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.
FAQs
- X-ray. Xerox. Xylophone. Xenial. X-mas tree. Xanthic.
- Xe. Xi.
- Xia. Xis. Xvi. Xii.
- Xmas. X-ray.
- Xenon. Xylem. Xerox. Xenic.
- Xantus. Xenial. Xyster. Xenops.
- Xerotic. Xerosis. Xerarch. Xanthic.
- Xenolith. Xanthate. Xenogeny. Xanthein.
Words With Two X 's
- 13 letter words. COEXECUTRIXES31.
- 12 letter words. EXTRATEXTUAL26.
- 11 letter words. ANTIVAXXERS28. COEXECUTRIX29. ...
- 10 letter words. ANTIVAXXER27. SAXITOXINS24. ...
- 9 letter words (4 words) EXECUTRIX25. EXOTOXINS23. ...
- 8 letter words (4 words) EXOTOXIN22. EXOTOXIC24. ...
- 7 letter words. XEROXED22. ...
- MAXIXE22. PAXWAX25.
oxyphenbutazone, 1778 points
It is theorized to be the highest scoring legal word that would actually fit on a Scrabble board. However, entire galaxies worth of stars would need to align in order to actually play this behemoth of a word in a game of Scrabble.
What are all the X words? ›
What are some of the X words for kids? Some of the X words for kids are xyst, xanthic, xenial, xenon, xebecs, xylophone, Xavier, X-ray fish, Xystos, Xmas tree, X-ray, Xiaosaurus, Xii, Xis, Xians, Xeric, Xylems, Xliv, Xciv, Xanax, and Xylyl.
What are positive X words? ›
Nice Words Beginning With X
| Word | Definition | Synonyms |
|---|
| xenas (n.) | confident, strong woman | mighty, strong, confident |
| xenagogue (n.) | acting as a guide; guiding someone | tour guide |
| xenial (adj.) | being nice or friendly to foreign visitors | hospitable, friendly |
| xenismos (n.) | offering meal (ritual) | offering, ritual |
13 more rowsJul 13, 2021
The Oxford English Dictionary currently has four hundred English words that begin with the letter X. Of those words, the Oxford English Dictionary identifies around one hundred and twenty as common words that are used in everyday speech.
Is IQ a Scrabble word? ›
The Important Answer About IQ
No. To make it clear right now, IQ is not a valid word in Scrabble. This is according to the official Scrabble dictionary, even though IQ is a legitimate word in the dictionary. That's because, generally speaking, you cannot use abbreviations in Scrabble.
What is a four letter word with X? ›
4 letter words with the letter X
- apex.
- axed.
- axel.
- axes.
- axil.
- axis.
- axle.
- axon.
Scrabble letter distribution is as follows: A-9, B-2, C-2, D-4, E-12, F-2, G-3, H-2, I-9, J-1, K-1, L-4, M-2, N-6, O-8, P-2, Q-1, R-6, S-4, T-6, U-4, V-2, W-2, X-1, Y-2, Z-1 and Blanks-2. Total face point value is 187. There are 225 squares on a Scrabble board.
Is xi a word in the dictionary? ›
It's also a Roman numeral equivalent to eleven. However, Scrabble tournaments allow the use of Xi because it is a word and not just a numeral. The word has been around since the 15th century, but people rarely use it today.
Ix is not a valid Scrabble word.
What is the longest Scrabble word? ›
Any 15-letter word is the longest possible scrabble word, as that's the size of the board. The highest scoring word possible, to my knowledge, is oxyphenbutazone, along any edge of the board, for a triple triple triple. Purely theoretically, as it's never been played, it would be worth 1,751 points.
Who has scored more than 850 points in an official Scrabble game? ›
High game (SOWPODS) – Toh Weibin set a record score of 850 at the Northern Ireland Championships on January 21, 2012. The winning margin of 591 points is also believed to be a record. High combined score (OTCWL) – 1320 (830–490) by Michael Cresta and Wayne Yorra, in a Lexington, Mass., club, 2006.
What is worth X in Scrabble? ›
Any Scrabble player can tell you that the X is actually worth eight points. But as Butts was creating the game, in a fifth-floor walkup in Queens, he tinkered—with the layout of the board, with the total number of tiles, with their distribution, and with their respective point values.
What is a 4 letter word that starts with X? ›
Some of the Four Letter Words That Start With X are Xray, Xmas, xxix, xxiv, xxxv, xxvi, Xbox, Xeno, xian, xyst, xxii, xxix, xxxi, etc.
What are the 4 letter X words? ›
4 letters
- APEX.
- ORYX.
- IXIA.
- JEUX.
- JINX.
- LUXE.
- LYNX.
- MAXI.
What is the least used letter in the alphabet?
- Our research also shows that the letter “J” is the least common letter in the alphabet.
- “J” is shown to appear just 0.16% of the time in the words analyzed.
- Other low frequency letters include “Q” with a frequency of 0.16% and “X” which shows up 0.29% of the time.
