Enter a clue, a letter pattern, or both — find every matching word instantly. 466,000+ English words · No account needed.
Common crossword terms, abbreviations, and solving conventions every puzzler should know.
| Term / Abbreviation | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Crosswordese | Short high-vowel words appearing frequently: ORE, EPEE, OREO, ETNA, ALOE | All |
| Rebus | One square holds 2+ letters — common on Thursdays | Thu+ |
| Revealer | Long theme entry that explains the puzzle's trick | All |
| Pangram | Grid uses all 26 letters at least once | All |
| Natick | Two crossing obscure proper nouns — impossible to guess (Rex Parker's term) | Sat |
| FIB clue | Fill-In-the-Blank — nearly always the easiest type; solve these first | Mon |
| ? in clue | Signals wordplay, pun, or misdirection — expect a twist | Thu+ |
| Abbr. in clue | Abbreviated clue → abbreviated answer (e.g. "Corp. head" = CEO) | All |
| Var. | Variant spelling accepted | All |
| Cryptic | British-style: definition + wordplay (anagram, hidden, reversal, homophone) | Adv. |
This free crossword puzzle solver finds answers by pattern matching, clue meaning, or both. Powered by the Datamuse API — no key or account required. Covers 466,000+ English words.
Enter known letters and use ? for each unknown. C??E matches CAVE, CARE, CODE… Use * for any number of unknowns: S*Y → SAY, STAY, STORY.
Enter your crossword clue and we find semantically matching words. Combine clue + pattern for the most accurate results.
Difficulty rises Monday → Saturday. Sunday is 21×21 at ~Thursday difficulty. Start with fill-in-the-blank clues, use crossings to confirm answers, and treat any ? in a clue as a signal for wordplay. Abbreviated clues always yield abbreviated answers.
| Char | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ? | Any single unknown letter | C??E → CAVE, CARE, CODE |
| * | Any number of unknown letters | S*Y → SAY, STAY, STORY |
| A–Z | Known letter at that position | PA??S → PARIS |
| Char | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ? | One unknown letter |
| * | Zero or more unknowns |
| A–Z | Known letter at position |
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