important I₁M₃P₃O₁R₁T₁A₁N₁T₁

IMPORTANT describes something with relevant and crucial value, something that carries import. A count of 164,386 puts it among the most-used nine-letter words in the lexicon. The letter mix is quiet on points but tidy: two Ts, an M and a P side by side, and no repeated vowel.

IMPORTANT in short

• The letters are I, M, P, O, R, T, A, N, T.
• Base score is 13, and M plus P supply 6 of it.
• Nothing rearranges into another word, and nothing sits one letter away.
• Frequency rank 327, Zipf score 5.44.

Why is IMPORTANT so hard to build from a rack?

Nine tiles cannot come from seven. You need two letters already on the board, and an existing T or A in the right lane is the usual anchor. Once those are in place, the middle MP block is the only awkward stretch.

Without any anagram or neighbour as a fallback, the play is all-or-nothing.

The word is an adjective only, with a single sense: having relevant and crucial value. That is why dictionaries pair it with the noun import, and why it is so easy to place in a sentence.

How do the points add up?

I1, M3, P3, O1, R1, T1, A1, N1 and T1 total 13. Seven of the nine tiles are 1-pointers, so the word is a steady scorer rather than a spike. A double-letter square under the M or the P adds 3 more.

The twin Ts give you two chances to use a board letter as an anchor, which helps with the two-tile requirement. Still, 13 base points is a modest return for such a long word, so weigh the risk before you open a lane.

What patterns sit around IMPORTANT?

Among 41,930 nine-letter words, 1,253 start with I and 2,304 end in T. The I opening is the thin side, about 3 percent, while the T close covers about 5 percent. The -ANT tail matches WANT, SIGNIFICANT, MEANT, PLANT and ASSISTANT in spelling.