Pattern Search
Stuck on a crossword answer with only a few crossing letters filled in? Type the shape you have, with a blank for every square you do not know, and this tool finds every dictionary word that fits it, narrowed by any letters you know must be in or out.
Your pattern
One character per square. Type a letter where the grid gives you one, and _ for a blank. The characters ? . and - also work as blanks.
Worked examples
_OO_ is a 4-letter shape with OO fixed in the middle. It finds words like book, boom and cool.
_A__LE is 6 letters, with A in the second square and LE at the end. It finds words like babble, candle and castle.
C_OS____D is 9 letters. It finds just five words: crossbred, crosshead, crossroad, crosswind and crossword.
How it works
A fixed letter has to land in its exact square. A blank can be any letter at all, including a repeat of a letter you already have, so a shape like _A__LE still finds babble, with its three Bs.
Must include sets a minimum count: type a letter once to require it once, twice to require it twice. A letter fixed in the pattern already counts toward its minimum, once for each time it is fixed.
Must not include rules a letter out everywhere in the word. If a letter ends up in both lists, Must not include wins, and the tool tells you in plain words instead of just showing an empty list.
Results update as you type. Very long lists stop at 500 words shown, and the count above the list always shows the full number found.
About this word list
The list is built from SCOWL, the spell-checker word lists, the same source as our Word Finder and Anagram Solver, and it holds well over 100,000 words, from everyday vocabulary to some deep dictionary corners. Treat a match as a candidate, not a promise: crossword editors pick their own answers, and the crossing words in your grid still have the final say. If the shape came from today's Mini instead, the answers are on today's Mini Crossword page.