4-letter words starting with B

B is the sixth busiest first letter for 4-letter words, with 341 entries in Collins. That is about a third of the 1,029 words that start with A, so the pool is solid but much smaller. Of the B words, 141 are common everyday words, which makes them the first place to look when a grid needs a quick fill.

Where B ranks among 4-letter openers

Only A, O, E, I and U open more 4-letter words than B does. B's 341 words beat R at 276 and L at 223, so it holds the sixth spot among all letters.

A is the clear leader with 1,029 starts. B has about one third of that, which is fewer candidates than an A start but more than most consonants give you.

Endings matter more than starts once B is fixed. S, E and T together close 126 words, which is more than a third of the 341 in the list.

Which word list your game uses

Collins accepts all 341 of these words. NWL2023, which North American Scrabble uses, takes 275, and ENABLE, common in word apps, takes 251.

That leaves 66 more B words in Collins than in NWL2023. Check your board's rules before you play one, because a word that passes in one game can be rejected in another.

Pick one list and stick with it while you practise. Mixing lists is the fastest way to lose a challenge over a word you thought was valid.

How B words usually end

• Ending in S is the most common, with 54 words such as BOYS and BAGS.
• E closes 38 words, including BASE and BLUE, so an E at the end is a strong guess.
• T closes 34 words, including BEST and BOAT, which makes it the next safe test.
• K closes 28 words, including BACK and BOOK, so try K once S, E and T are ruled out.

The one B word that beats 20 points

A quick way to shortlist B words

1. Fix the last letter first, because S, E and T together cover 126 of the 341 words.
2. Try the 141 common words first when the clue is everyday English, since they are the ones most players already know.
3. Move to the full Collins list only when no common word fits the pattern on the board.
4. Check the definition of any unfamiliar B word before you play it, so you do not lose a turn to a rejected entry.