Why endings matter for word games
English is built on endings. Add S to make a plural, ED to make a past tense, ING to make a participle, ER to name a doer, LY to make an adverb, and a long list of other endings to turn nouns into adjectives and adjectives into nouns. Because the same endings repeat across tens of thousands of words, learning them is the fastest way to turn a jumble of tiles into a play.
Players use endings in three ways. First, as a filter: if your rack holds I, N and G, you test the other four tiles as a stem for -ING. Second, as a hook: a word already on the board can often take an S, D, R or Y on the end, giving you a second word for free. Third, as a defense: if a word you play can take an S at the end and the square beyond it is a premium square, you may be handing your opponent a bingo lane.
The tables below count real endings from the dictionary, so you can see how likely each one is. Each count excludes words where the ending is the whole word, so -ING counts words that are longer than the suffix by at least two letters.
Words by last letter
S ends more words than any other letter by a wide margin, followed by E, D, Y and G. Letters near the bottom, such as Q, J and V, almost never end a word, which is useful when you are deciding where a high-value tile can go.
| Last letter | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| S | 65,475 | 37.9% |
| E | 16,934 | 9.8% |
| D | 15,856 | 9.2% |
| Y | 13,310 | 7.7% |
| G | 13,080 | 7.6% |
| R | 9,502 | 5.5% |
| T | 8,472 | 4.9% |
| N | 7,644 | 4.4% |
| L | 5,458 | 3.2% |
| C | 3,787 | 2.2% |
| A | 2,912 | 1.7% |
| M | 2,619 | 1.5% |
| H | 1,934 | 1.1% |
| K | 1,418 | 0.8% |
| O | 1,032 | 0.6% |
| P | 952 | 0.6% |
| I | 796 | 0.5% |
| W | 418 | 0.2% |
| X | 360 | 0.2% |
| F | 346 | 0.2% |
| B | 244 | 0.1% |
| U | 173 | 0.1% |
| Z | 81 | 0.0% |
| V | 17 | 0.0% |
| J | 7 | 0.0% |
| Q | 3 | 0.0% |
Common endings compared
This table covers 24 endings that players meet constantly. The examples are the shortest words with that ending, and the final column shows the highest-scoring word and its Scrabble tile total. Endings with a count of thousands are worth learning as patterns, while endings with only a few hundred matches, like -ISM and -WARD, are best known by their typical words.
| Ending | Words | Share | Shortest examples | Top scorer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -ING | 12,555 | 7.3% | ACING, AGING, APING, AWING and AXING | HYPOPHYSECTOMIZING (48) |
| -ED | 13,318 | 7.7% | ABED, ACED, AGED, APED and AWED | HYPOPHYSECTOMIZED (47) |
| -ER | 7,482 | 4.3% | AGER, APER, AVER, BEER and BIER | HEMIDEMISEMIQUAVER (40) |
| -ERS | 5,819 | 3.4% | AGERS, APERS, AVERS, BEERS and BIERS | HEMIDEMISEMIQUAVERS (41) |
| -EST | 1,796 | 1.0% | BLEST, CHEST, CREST, DOEST and DREST | JAZZIEST (33) |
| -LY | 6,372 | 3.7% | ABLY, AGLY, ALLY, COLY and DULY | ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHICALLY (47) |
| -NESS | 2,871 | 1.7% | APTNESS, BADNESS, BIGNESS, COYNESS and DIMNESS | PUZZLEHEADEDNESS (41) |
| -LESS | 647 | 0.4% | AWLESS, UNLESS, AGELESS, AIDLESS and AIMLESS | QUENCHLESS (24) |
| -FUL | 332 | 0.2% | AWFUL, WOFUL, AIDFUL, AIMFUL and ARMFUL | FORETHOUGHTFUL (27) |
| -ABLE | 1,471 | 0.9% | ARABLE, DOABLE, DYABLE, ENABLE and LIABLE | HYDROLYZABLE (33) |
| -IBLE | 218 | 0.1% | ALIBLE, EDIBLE, FOIBLE, ADDIBLE and AUDIBLE | HYPERSUSCEPTIBLE (30) |
| -TION | 2,585 | 1.5% | ACTION, CATION, KATION, LOTION and MOTION | ANTHROPOMORPHIZATION (41) |
| -SION | 260 | 0.2% | BASION, FUSION, LESION, NASION and VISION | HYPEREXTENSION (29) |
| -MENT | 615 | 0.4% | CEMENT, DEMENT, FOMENT, LAMENT and LOMENT | EMBEZZLEMENT (36) |
| -ISH | 550 | 0.3% | APISH, CUISH, KNISH, SWISH and WHISH | JACKFISH (27) |
| -ISM | 882 | 0.5% | AGISM, DEISM, PRISM, SEISM and AGEISM | HYPERPARATHYROIDISM (38) |
| -IST | 1,189 | 0.7% | AGIST, ALIST, DEIST, EXIST and FEIST | PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGIST (40) |
| -IZE | 698 | 0.4% | BAIZE, MAIZE, PRIZE, SEIZE and AGNIZE | HYPOPHYSECTOMIZE (45) |
| -ISE | 397 | 0.2% | ANISE, ARISE, FRISE, GUISE and HOISE | COUNTERCLOCKWISE (29) |
| -OUS | 1,199 | 0.7% | MEOUS, PIOUS, THOUS, AUROUS and AWMOUS | PSEUDOPARENCHYMATOUS (35) |
| -ITY | 1,528 | 0.9% | AMITY, DEITY, LAITY, UNITY and WHITY | QUIZZICALITY (44) |
| -IFY | 169 | 0.1% | DEIFY, EDIFY, REIFY, UNIFY and AERIFY | COMPLEXIFY (29) |
| -WARD | 66 | 0.0% | COWARD, INWARD, ONWARD, REWARD and TOWARD | STRAIGHTFORWARD (26) |
| -OLOGY | 280 | 0.2% | APOLOGY, BIOLOGY, ECOLOGY, ENOLOGY and GEOLOGY | PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY (41) |
The twelve most common two-letter endings
| Ending | Words | Share |
|---|---|---|
| ES | 22,918 | 13.3% |
| ED | 13,329 | 7.7% |
| NG | 12,742 | 7.4% |
| ER | 7,487 | 4.3% |
| RS | 7,452 | 4.3% |
| LY | 6,375 | 3.7% |
| NS | 6,123 | 3.5% |
| TS | 5,642 | 3.3% |
| SS | 3,889 | 2.3% |
| ON | 3,806 | 2.2% |
| IC | 3,642 | 2.1% |
| AL | 3,536 | 2.0% |
Two-letter endings are the ones you can use as hooks most often. S, ES, ED and RS appear again and again, which is why a Scrabble rack with an S is worth keeping: it works as a hook across the board.
Short words with common endings
Some of the most useful plays are very short words that already contain an ending, because they fit into tight spaces. Here are the four-letter words made of two letters plus the ending, with the count for each and a dozen examples.
- -ED: 52 words, such as ABED, ACED, AGED, APED, AWED, AXED, BLED, BRED, COED, CUED, DEED and DIED.
- -ER: 32 words, such as AGER, APER, AVER, BEER, BIER, DEER, DOER, DYER, EGER, EVER, EWER and EYER.
- -LY: 22 words, such as ABLY, AGLY, ALLY, COLY, DULY, EELY, HOLY, IDLY, ILLY, INLY, LILY and MOLY.
For the biggest ending, see the dedicated words ending in ING page, and for beginnings, see words starting with. If you have a specific ending in mind, the Word Finder will list every match.
How to use endings in a game
- Scan the rack for ending letters. Look for S, D, R, Y and the groups ING, ER, ED, ES. If you find one, set those tiles aside mentally and treat the rest as a stem.
- Check the board for hooks. Words on the board that can take an S or a D let you play a word at a right angle for a second score. Our Scrabble strategy guide explains parallel plays and hooks in detail.
- Mind what you leave open. A word you play that takes an S, with a premium square behind it, is an invitation. Block it or accept the risk knowingly.