notice N₁O₁T₁I₁C₃E₁

NOTICE covers the act of observing, a written or printed announcement, a formal warning, and advance word that something will end. At rank 1,307 it is a common verb and noun. Its letters give just one anagram and one neighbour, but the neighbour is a familiar word.

NOTICE at a glance

• Six letters: N, O, T, I, C, E.
• Base score 8, with C as the only 3-point tile.
• NOETIC is the anagram; NOVICE is the neighbour.
• Rank 1,307, count 43,315.

What are the main meanings of NOTICE?

The verb means to observe or become aware of something. The noun covers the act of observing, a printed announcement on a wall or in a paper, and a formal notification or warning.

The same spelling also names advance warning that a job or tenancy is ending, which is why the word turns up in so many everyday documents.

Context sorts them out. A sign saying notice is a posted announcement; a manager giving notice is warning that a job or lease will end.

How does NOTICE compare with NOVICE?

NOVICE swaps the T for a V, and since V is worth 4, it scores 11 against 8 for NOTICE. That 3-point gap is the whole difference.

NOETIC, the anagram, uses the same tiles and also scores 8. It is rare, so check your game’s word list before playing it.

The V is the swing tile. Swap it for the T and you gain 3 points, which is why a rack with V and C but no T prefers NOVICE.

Where does NOTICE sit in the six-letter list?

Few words open with N: 488 of 22,710, about 2 percent. A closing E is far more common, with 2,671 words, about 12 percent. The -ICE tail matches SERVICE, OFFICE, NICE, POLICE and PRICE in spelling.

That open N is narrow, so a pattern search with a known first letter returns a short list, while an unknown first letter with a known E ending returns thousands.