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13-letter words starting with X

13-letter words starting with X come to 20 in tournament dictionaries, and XIPHOPHYLLOUS leads them at 33 points.

20 wordsTop pick XENOBIOLOGISTHighest score XIPHOPHYLLOUS 33

P starts the most 13-letter words (1,597); Y starts the fewest (10). X ranks #25 of 26. The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

Best words to play first 20 · most-used first

  • XENOBIOLOGIST23
  • XANTHOCHROMIA30
  • XENODIAGNOSIS22
  • XANTHOCHROIAS28
  • XANTHOCHROIDS29
  • XANTHOCHROISM30
  • XANTHOCHROOUS28
  • XANTHOPTERINE25
  • XANTHOPTERINS25
  • XENOBIOLOGIES23
  • XENODIAGNOSES22
  • XERODERMATOUS23
  • XEROPHTHALMIA30
  • XEROPHTHALMIC32
  • XIPHIPLASTRAL27
  • XIPHIPLASTRON27
  • XIPHISTERNUMS27
  • XIPHOPHYLLOUS33
  • XYLOBALSAMUMS29
  • XYLOGRAPHICAL31
All valid words 20

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

  • XANTHOCHROIAS28
  • XANTHOCHROIDS29
  • XANTHOCHROISM30
  • XANTHOCHROMIA30
  • XANTHOCHROOUS28
  • XANTHOPTERINE25
  • XANTHOPTERINS25
  • XENOBIOLOGIES23
  • XENOBIOLOGIST23
  • XENODIAGNOSES22
  • XENODIAGNOSIS22
  • XERODERMATOUS23
  • XEROPHTHALMIA30
  • XEROPHTHALMIC32
  • XIPHIPLASTRAL27
  • XIPHIPLASTRON27
  • XIPHISTERNUMS27
  • XIPHOPHYLLOUS33
  • XYLOBALSAMUMS29
  • XYLOGRAPHICAL31
Letters by positionIn 55% of these words the 3rd letter is N.
2nd letter
  1. E35%
  2. A35%
  3. I20%
3rd letter
  1. N55%
  2. P20%
  3. R15%
4th letter
  1. O45%
  2. T35%
  3. H20%
5th letter
  1. H35%
  2. D15%
  3. I15%
6th letter
  1. O35%
  2. I20%
  3. P15%
13th letter
  1. S55%
  2. A10%
  3. L10%

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
Score spreadMost of these words score 23 in Scrabble; XIPHOPHYLLOUS tops the list with 33. Scores before board bonuses.
  1. 2222 points: 2 words
  2. 23 points: 3 words
  3. 2424 points: 0 words
  4. 25 points: 2 words
  5. 2626 points: 0 words
  6. 27 points: 3 words
  7. 2828 points: 2 words
  8. 29 points: 2 words
  9. 3030 points: 3 words
  10. 31 points: 1 words
  11. 3232 points: 1 words
  12. 33 points: 1 words
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
XIPHOPHYLLOUS3335Collins only
XEROPHTHALMIC3234All three
XYLOGRAPHICAL3134All three
XANTHOCHROMIA3031Collins only
XEROPHTHALMIA3031All three
XANTHOCHROISM3031Collins only
XANTHOCHROIDS2929Collins only
XYLOBALSAMUMS2934Collins only
XANTHOCHROIAS2828Collins only
XANTHOCHROOUS2829Collins only
XIPHIPLASTRAL2730Collins only
XIPHIPLASTRON2730Collins only

X is a tough opening letter, and thirteen letters does not make it friendlier: only 20 entries qualify. None of them land inside the 25,000 most frequent English words, so expect scientific and botanical vocabulary rather than everyday play. The endings are strikingly narrow, with 11 of the 20 closing in S.

13-letter words starting with X at a glance

  • The pattern holds 20 entries across the tournament dictionaries.
  • XIPHOPHYLLOUS heads the group with 33 points.
  • Eleven entries end in S, while A and L close two words each.
  • Collins covers 18 entries, NWL2023 covers 7, and ENABLE covers 5; the sets overlap.
  • Sixteen entries carry definitions, and the average score is 27.2.
  • Length gives no help here: every entry already runs thirteen letters, so tile value is the only real sorting tool.

Which X words score highest?

XIPHOPHYLLOUS sets the pace at 33 points, ahead of XEROPHTHALMIC at 32 and XYLOGRAPHICAL at 31. XANTHOCHROMIA and XEROPHTHALMIA each finish on 30. Those totals reward the rare opening letter, but the long, technical spellings are hard to build from a single rack.

The examples also reveal how technical this group is. XENOBIOLOGIST and XENODIAGNOSIS sit beside terms such as XANTHOCHROISM and XIPHIPLASTRAL. With no entries in the 25,000 most common words, recognition is a bigger hurdle than finding an ordinary word with an X.

Scores climb when the X sits next to other premium letters. XANTHOCHROISM and XYLOBALSAMUMS both reach 29 on that strength, well above the list's average of 27.2.

Why do the dictionary counts differ?

Note

The three lists disagree: Collins carries 18 of the 20 entries, NWL2023 carries 7, and ENABLE carries 5. They overlap, so a word one game allows may be missing from another. Test an unfamiliar term first.

How to use the X list on a board

Treat these entries as candidates, not guaranteed plays. A 33-point word such as XIPHOPHYLLOUS still needs a legal placement, and its long spelling leaves few natural hooks. Build the X into an existing word instead of opening a fresh lane.

If you want a bigger pool for practice, the 8-letter X list has 38 entries and the 10-letter list has 54, both far larger than this group. The 13-letter set is for scoring or a fixed pattern, not for learning the letter.

Questions people ask

How many X-starting 13-letter words are there?
There are 20 tournament-dictionary 13-letter words beginning with X. Their endings pile up at S: 11 of the 20 close that way, while A and L each end two words. The remaining five finish in C, E, M, N, or T.
Which 13-letter X word scores the most?
XIPHOPHYLLOUS reaches 33 points, three clear of XEROPHTHALMIC at 32. XYLOGRAPHICAL adds 31, while XANTHOCHROMIA and XEROPHTHALMIA land on 30 apiece. The leaders all lean on rare consonants, so spelling matters as much as spotting the X.
Do tournament dictionaries agree on these 20 words?
No. Collins carries 18 of the entries, NWL2023 carries 7, and ENABLE carries 5, and those sets overlap. A term such as XIPHIPLASTRAL may appear in one list only, so confirm your game's word list before relying on it.

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