How to use the word finder
Fill in one or more fields and press Find words. Each field is a group of letters in that exact order. Starts with PRE finds PREACH and PREVIEW. Ends with ING finds every word that ends in ING. Contains GHT finds NIGHT, LIGHTER and DAUGHTER, because GHT can be anywhere in the word.
You can use the fields together. Starts with S, Ends with Y and a length of 5 finds SALTY, SHINY, STORY and many more. Unlike the unscrambler, the finder does not need a set of letters to build from: it searches the whole word list.
Where it helps
Crosswords
When you have the first and last letters of an answer, put them in Starts with and Ends with, and set the length to the number of squares.
Word games
Find words that start with a letter on the board, or words that end with a hook such as S, ED or ER. Many games give extra points for long words, so look at the top of the list.
Writing and teaching
Teachers use lists of words with a given prefix (UN, RE, PRE) or suffix (TION, NESS, ABLE) for spelling practice. Writers use them to find a word with the right sound or length.
Limits
The fields match letters, not sounds, so the finder does not find rhymes that are spelled differently, such as FLY and HIGH. Very broad searches, such as every word that contains E, return tens of thousands of words; add a length or a second field to get a list you can read.
The word list is ENABLE, about 173,000 English words with plurals and verb forms, and no proper nouns or abbreviations.