major M₃A₁J₈O₁R₁

MAJOR is familiar as an army or US Air Force rank between captain and lieutenant colonel. It also means a person of legal age, or a change-ringing method using eight bells. General-English frequency data places it at rank 477, with a count of 60,560, so this is a common word with an unusually costly letter for board play.

MAJOR at a glance

• MAJOR is a five-letter word found in Collins, NWL2023, and ENABLE.
• Its base Scrabble tile score is 14 points.
• The J tile accounts for 8 points, more than half the base total.
• JORAM is MAJOR’s only anagram.
• MAYOR, MANOR, and MAROR are its three one-letter neighbours.

What is the MAJOR Scrabble score?

MAJOR scores 14 points before board bonuses: M is worth 3, A is worth 1, J is worth 8, O is worth 1, and R is worth 1. The J supplies most of the value, while the other four tiles add 6 points together.

The rare high-value tile makes MAJOR a strong scoring opportunity when you can place J on a premium letter square. Remember that 14 is the tile sum, not a guaranteed turn total: board bonuses and any words formed across existing tiles can change your score.

What does MAJOR mean, and what is close to it?

The military sense describes a rank above captain and below lieutenant colonel in the army and US Air Force. The word also names someone who has reached legal age. Its less familiar third sense is a change-ringing system played on eight bells.

For a one-letter board change, compare MAJOR with MAYOR, MANOR, and MAROR. Each keeps four letters in place, but swaps a different tile. JORAM uses the same letters in a new order; it is the only anagram, though it is far less familiar in everyday English.

MAJOR is both an accepted Wordle answer and an allowed guess. Its five-letter pattern has A in the second position and R at the end, but do not treat those clues as a hint about any particular puzzle.