Crossword helper,
find words by letter pattern.

Solving guide

How to use a crossword helper: and master the puzzle.

A crossword helper works by filtering a dictionary against a letter pattern: you specify the word length and any letters whose positions you know (from crossing words or partial fills), and the tool returns every dictionary word that fits. Blank cells match any letter, so a pattern like C _ A _ T would return CRAFT, CHANT, COAST, and every other five-letter word starting with C, with A in the third position, ending in T.

How to read and enter patterns

Each cell in the pattern grid represents one letter of the word:

• Type a letter in a cell to fix that position; only words with that exact letter at that position will appear.
• Leave a cell blank (the default) to match any letter at that position.
• Arrow keys move between cells. Backspace clears the current cell and moves left.

The pattern is also shown above the cells as text (e.g., C_A_T), where underscores represent blank positions. You can load example patterns from the panel to see the helper in action.

Effective crossword-solving strategies

Fill the crossing squares first

The most reliable strategy in crossword solving is to work on clues where crossing letters are already filled in. Even one confirmed letter dramatically reduces the number of possible answers. A 7-letter word with just its first and last letters known typically has dozens of possibilities; add one more letter in the middle and you often narrow it to under ten.

Look for common word endings

English words cluster around predictable patterns. The most common word endings in American crosswords:

Common short crossword words to know

Certain 3–5 letter words appear in crosswords far more often than their frequency in everyday English would suggest, because they fit naturally into grids and have useful crossing letters:

• 3-letter crossword staples: ERA, ORE, ALE, AXE, APE, ODE, ACE, OCA, EEL, EWE, ORB, AWE. These tend to appear frequently because their vowel-heavy structure fills awkward grid corners.
• 4-letter crossword staples: ARIA, EROS, ANTE, ACRE, ALOE, ERNE (a type of eagle), ESNE (an Anglo-Saxon serf, crossword favourite for its unusual letter combination).
• 5-letter crossword staples: ARENA, ENTER, OATER (western film), ETUDE (musical study), ADAGE, INANE, IRATE.

Using crossing words to your advantage

When you have multiple crossing squares filled in, use the pattern helper to check whether there is only one possible answer. If so, you can fill it in with confidence even if the clue itself is unclear. For example, if you know a 6-letter word has the pattern _R_N_E, the helper immediately shows FRANCE, PRANCE, ORANGE, TRANCE; and if the clue says "citrus fruit", only ORANGE fits, solving the clue entirely from pattern matching.

Vowel patterns as solving anchors

Every English word of 4+ letters contains at least one vowel (A, E, I, O, U). If you know two adjacent consonants in a long word, they're likely separated by a vowel pattern. Common vowel clusters that appear often in crossword fills: TION, IGHT, OUGH, TION, NESS, ATCH, ANCE, ENCE.

If you have the ending ___IGHT, likely completions include BLIGHT, FLIGHT, BRIGHT, KNIGHT, PLIGHT, SLIGHT, TWIGHT, all one-letter fills away from each other. The helper handles these instantly.

Letter frequency in English

Knowing which letters are most common helps you make educated guesses for blank positions:

Most frequent (in crosswords): E, A, R, I, O, T, N, S, L, C

Least frequent: Q, Z, X, J, K, V, W, Y

If you have a single blank in a word and can't determine it from the crossing clue, an E, A, or R are statistically your best guesses for internal positions. For starting letters, S, C, B, T, P are the most common; for ending letters, E, S, T, D, N dominate.

Double-letter patterns

Double letters are a common source of difficulty, and a great tool for narrowing down candidates when you know one is present. Common double-letter patterns in English words:

• -LL: BELL, FILL, STILL, SPELL, INSTALL (extremely common)
• -SS: PRESS, DRESS, ACROSS, BUSINESS
• -EE: SLEEP, AGREE, COFFEE, THREE
• -OO: PROOF, SCHOOL, SMOOTH, BALLOON
• -TT: LITTLE, BETTER, WRITTEN, ATTIC
• -NN: ANNOUNCE, INNOCENT, CONNECT

Use the helper by putting the known letter in both cells: for a 5-letter word with double L in positions 2–3, enter _LL__.

Sunday crossword vs. daily puzzles

American crossword puzzles (NYT, LAT, WSJ) vary significantly in difficulty by day of the week:

• Monday: Straightforward vocabulary, fair clues with minimal wordplay or trivia. Best for beginners.
• Wednesday–Thursday: Begins introducing tricky misdirection, puns, and less common vocabulary.
• Friday–Saturday: The hardest themeless puzzles, with challenging vocabulary, very indirect clues, and unusual word choices.
• Sunday: Longer grid (21×21 vs. standard 15×15) with a complex theme. Difficulty is roughly Thursday-level, but the theme requires creative interpretation of related clue answers.

For Sunday puzzles especially, knowing the theme is critical once you figure out the gimmick (e.g., "each answer contains a hidden colour"), you can use the theme to make educated guesses about unfilled squares and then verify them with this helper.