Hook Words: The Everyday Words That Take the Most Extra Letters
A hook is a letter you add to the front or back of a word already on the board to make a new word, like turning ILL into HILL or CAR into CARD. In our dictionary, 41% of words of up to seven letters take an S on the end. The everyday word with the most front hooks is ILL, which takes 17 different letters: BILL, DILL, FILL, GILL, HILL, JILL, KILL, MILL, NILL, PILL, RILL, SILL, TILL, VILL, WILL, YILL and ZILL.
Key facts
- 40.8% of words with seven or fewer letters can take a back hook S.
- ILL takes 17 front hooks, more than any other common three- or four-letter word.
- ITS, EAR, ORE and EARS each take 13 front hooks.
- PA and MA take the most back hooks among common words (13 and 12).
Why hooks matter
A hook lets you play a word across the board while adding one letter to an existing word, so you score for both words. Playing PAX alongside PA uses the X twice. Experienced players know the hooks for short words by heart.
Common words with the most front hooks
| Word | Front hooks |
|---|---|
| ILL | B D F G H J K M N P R S T V W Y Z (17) |
| ITS | A B D F G H K L N P S W Z (13) |
| EAR | B D F G H L N P R S T W Y (13) |
| ORE | B C D F G K L M P S T W Y (13) |
| EARS | B D F G H L N P R S T W Y (13) |
| ASH | B C D F G H L M P R S W (12) |
| ATE | B C D F G H L M P R S T (12) |
Common words with the most back hooks
| Word | Back hooks |
|---|---|
| PA | C D H L M N P R S T W X Y (13) |
| MA | C D E G N P R S T W X Y (12) |
| HA | D E G H J M O P S T W Y (12) |
| TO | D E G M N O P R T W Y (11) |
| SO | B D L N P S T U W X Y (11) |
| HE | H M N P R S T W X Y (10) |
Hooks you might not expect
- Many words take an E on the end: PAL to PALE, HAT to HATE, CAP to CAPE.
- A on the front is useful: ALONE from LONE, AWAKE from WAKE, ABED from BED.
- Some common words take no S at all, such as adverbs and most adjectives. If in doubt, check with the word checker.
To find words that include specific letters at the start or end, use the filters in the word unscrambler or browse lists like words that end with S.
Sources
- Our own analysis of the ENABLE word list. Common words identified using wordfreq.
