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impact

/ˈɪmpækt/
nounverb

Impact meaning: a collision or a strong effect; IMPACT scores 12 Scrabble points and has no anagrams.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. The striking of one body against another; collision.

  2. The force or energy of a collision of two objects.

    “The hatchet cut the wood on impact.”

  3. A forced impinging.

    “His spine had an impingement; L4 and L5 made impact, which caused numbness in his leg.”

  4. A significant or strong influence or effect.

    “His friend's opinion had an impact on his decision.”

Verb 3 meanings

  1. To collide or strike, the act of impinging.

    “When the hammer impacts the nail, it bends.”

  2. To compress; to compact; to press into something or pack together.

    “The footprints of birds do not impact the soil in the way those of dinosaurs do.”

  3. To significantly or strongly influence or affect; to have an impact on.

    “I can make the changes, but it will impact the schedule.”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

Attested since the 17th century, from Latin impāctus.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
percussion

Impact has two closely related senses: a collision between bodies and the force produced by that collision. It also means a strong influence or effect, as in “the impact of a decision.” That range covers both physical events and changes in people or situations. The six letters have no anagram, while changing one letter produces IMPART.

Impact meaning at a glance

  • IMPACT is a six-letter word with two main senses: collision and strong influence.
  • Its three 3-point tiles are M, P, and C; I, A, and T score 1 each.
  • No anagrams use the same six letters.
  • IMPART is its sole one-letter neighbor, changing C to R.

What is IMPACT worth in Scrabble?

IMPACT scores 12 points in Scrabble before any board premium. The tile values are I 1, M 3, P 3, A 1, C 3, and T 1; the three 3-point letters supply nine of the total. Add three 3s and three 1s to check the base score.

The score does not make IMPACT an obscure rack word. It is familiar English, used for an actual collision as well as an effect or influence. A clue about a crash points to the physical sense; a clue about consequences points to the broader one.

On a crowded rack, keep IMPACT intact when the board offers a safe six-letter placement. The 3-point M, P, or C is the tile to favor on a premium letter square, while a word multiplier applies to the full sum.

Impact meaning, rhymes, and its closest neighbor

IMPACT has 12 listed rhymes, anchored by the sound at the end of “act.” FACT, EXACT, and PACT are compact matches; CONTACT, CONTRACT, ABSTRACT, and INTERACT stretch that sound across longer words. These are rhyme matches, not rearrangements of IMPACT’s letters.

No listed anagram rearranges A, C, I, M, P, and T into another word. IMPART is the only one-letter neighbor: replace C with R and keep the other five letters in place. That gives IMPACT a narrow set of close spelling alternatives rather than a family of anagrams.

Rhymes with impact

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest
  • IMPART10

Questions people ask

Is IMPACT valid in Scrabble?
IMPACT appears in Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE. Its tile value is 12 before board premiums, with M, P, and C worth 3 points each and the other tiles worth 1. Check your game's selected dictionary if its word list differs.
Does IMPACT have any anagrams?
No listed anagrams use the letters in IMPACT. The six letters are A, C, I, M, P, and T, and none form another listed word when rearranged. IMPART is close in spelling, but it changes C to R rather than rearranging the same letters.
What word is closest to IMPACT?
IMPART is IMPACT’s closest one-letter neighbor. Both words have six letters, and changing the C in IMPACT to an R gives IMPART. The pair is a useful contrast for spelling clues, but IMPART is not an anagram because one letter changes.

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