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8-letter words starting with Z

8-letter words starting with Z number 173, from ZEPPELIN and ZUCCHINI to ZYZZYVAS, which scores 44 points.

173 wordsTop pick ZEPPELINHighest score ZYZZYVAS 44

1 of 173 are everyday words (1%). Mostly rare words: great for Scrabble, tough for daily puzzles.

S starts the most 8-letter words (5,265); X starts the fewest (38). Z ranks #24 of 26. The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

Best words to play first 173 · most-used first

  • ZEPPELIN21
  • ZUCCHINI24
  • ZIRCONIA19
  • ZOONOTIC19
  • ZIPPERED22
  • ZAIBATSU19
  • ZODIACAL20
  • ZIGGURAT19
  • ZILLIONS17
  • ZEALOTRY20
  • ZEOLITES17
  • ZAMINDAR20
  • ZINDABAD21
  • ZOOMABLE21
  • ZOONOSES17
  • ZARZUELA26
  • ZOETROPE19
  • ZONATION17
  • ZUGZWANG31
  • ZANINESS17
  • ZOONOSIS17
  • ZINGIBER20
  • ZOOPHILE22
  • ZIRCALOY22
  • ZEOLITIC19
  • ZENITHAL20
  • ZWIEBACK28
  • ZOOSPORE19
  • ZOPILOTE19
  • ZABAIONE19
  • ZEPPOLES21
  • ZOONOMIA19
  • ZAMBOMBA25
  • ZIGZAGGY32
  • ZOMBIISM23
  • ZYGOSITY24
  • ZYGOMATA23
  • ZECCHINI24
  • ZIBELINE19
  • ZESTLESS17
  • ZOOTIEST17
  • ZESTIEST17
  • ZADDIKIM25
  • ZOOTROPE19
  • ZELKOVAS24
  • ZAKOUSKI25
  • ZOOTOXIN24
  • ZABAJONE26

Showing the top 48 of 173 words. See every valid word

All valid words 173

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

  • ZABAIONE19
  • ZABAJONE26
  • ZABTIEHS22
  • ZACATONS19
  • ZADDIKIM25
  • ZAIBATSU19
  • ZAITECHS22
  • ZAKOUSKA25
  • ZAKOUSKI25
  • ZAMARRAS19
  • ZAMARROS19
  • ZAMBOMBA25
  • ZAMBUCKS27
  • ZAMINDAR20
  • ZAMOUSES19
  • ZAMPOGNA22
  • ZAMZAWED32
  • ZANELLAS17
  • ZANINESS17
  • ZANJEROS24
  • ZANYISMS22
  • ZAPATEOS19
  • ZAPPIEST21
  • ZAPTIAHS22
  • ZAPTIEHS22
  • ZARATITE17
  • ZAREEBAS19
  • ZARNICHS22
  • ZARZUELA26
  • ZASTRUGA18
  • ZASTRUGI18
  • ZEALANTS17
  • ZEALLESS17
  • ZEALOTRY20
  • ZEBRANOS19
  • ZEBRINAS19
  • ZEBRINES19
  • ZEBRINNY22
  • ZEBRULAS19
  • ZEBRULES19
  • ZECCHINE24
  • ZECCHINI24
  • ZECCHINO24
  • ZECCHINS24
  • ZEEDONKS22
  • ZELATORS17
  • ZELATRIX24
  • ZELKOVAS24
  • ZEMINDAR20
  • ZEMSTVOS22
  • ZENAIDAS18
  • ZENITHAL20
  • ZEOLITES17
  • ZEOLITIC19
  • ZEPPELIN21
  • ZEPPOLES21
  • ZERUMBET21
  • ZESTIEST17
  • ZESTLESS17
  • ZETETICS19
  • ZEUXITES24
  • ZIBELINE19
  • ZIGANKAS22
  • ZIGGURAT19
  • ZIGZAGGY32
  • ZIKKURAT25
  • ZIKURATS21
  • ZILLIONS17
  • ZIMOCCAS23
  • ZINCATES19
  • ZINCIEST19
  • ZINCITES19
  • ZINCKIER23
  • ZINCKIFY29
  • ZINCKING24
  • ZINCODES20
  • ZINDABAD21
  • ZINGIBER20
  • ZINGIEST18
  • ZINKIEST21
  • ZIPPERED22
  • ZIPPIEST21
  • ZIRCALOY22
  • ZIRCONIA19
  • ZIRCONIC21
  • ZITHERNS20
  • ZIZANIAS26
  • ZIZYPHUS34
  • ZIZZLING36
  • ZOCCOLOS21
  • ZODIACAL20
  • ZOETROPE19
  • ZOIATRIA17
  • ZOISITES17
  • ZOMBIISM23
  • ZOMBORUK25
  • ZONATION17
  • ZONELESS17
  • ZONETIME19
  • ZONULETS17
  • ZOOBLAST19
  • ZOOCHORE22
  • ZOOCHORY25
  • ZOOCYTIA22
  • ZOOECIUM21
  • ZOOGENIC20
  • ZOOGLEAE18
  • ZOOGLEAL18
  • ZOOGLEAS18
  • ZOOGLOEA18
  • ZOOGRAFT21
  • ZOOLATER17
  • ZOOLATRY20
  • ZOOLITES17
  • ZOOLITHS20
  • ZOOLITIC19
  • ZOOLOGIC20
  • ZOOMABLE21
  • ZOOMANCY24
  • ZOOMANIA19
  • ZOOMETRY22
  • ZOOMORPH24
  • ZOONITES17
  • ZOONITIC19
  • ZOONOMIA19
  • ZOONOMIC21
  • ZOONOSES17
  • ZOONOSIS17
  • ZOONOTIC19
  • ZOOPATHY25
  • ZOOPERAL19
  • ZOOPHAGY26
  • ZOOPHILE22
  • ZOOPHILY25
  • ZOOPHOBE24
  • ZOOPHORI22
  • ZOOPHYTE25
  • ZOOSCOPY24
  • ZOOSPERM21
  • ZOOSPORE19
  • ZOOTHOME22
  • ZOOTIEST17
  • ZOOTOMIC21
  • ZOOTOXIC26
  • ZOOTOXIN24
  • ZOOTROPE19
  • ZOOTYPES22
  • ZOOTYPIC24
  • ZOPILOTE19
  • ZORBINGS20
  • ZORGITES18
  • ZORILLAS17
  • ZORILLES17
  • ZORILLOS17
  • ZUCCHINI24
  • ZUCHETTA22
  • ZUCHETTO22
  • ZUGZWANG31
  • ZWIEBACK28
  • ZYGAENID22
  • ZYGANTRA21
  • ZYGODONT22
  • ZYGOMATA23
  • ZYGOSITY24
  • ZYGOTENE21
  • ZYLONITE20
  • ZYMOGENE23
  • ZYMOGENS23
  • ZYMOGRAM25
  • ZYMOLOGY26
  • ZYMOSANS22
  • ZYMOTICS24
  • ZYZZYVAS44
Letters by positionIn 38% of these words the 2nd letter is O.
2nd letter
  1. O38%
  2. A18%
  3. E17%
3rd letter
  1. O29%
  2. N12%
  3. M11%
5th letter
  1. I19%
  2. O12%
  3. L10%
6th letter
  1. T13%
  2. E13%
  3. I13%
7th letter
  1. A14%
  2. E13%
  3. I13%
8th letter
  1. S37%
  2. E12%
  3. Y9%

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
Score spreadMost of these words score 19 in Scrabble; ZYZZYVAS tops the list with 44. Scores before board bonuses.
  1. 1717 points: 24 words
  2. 18 points: 9 words
  3. 1919 points: 33 words
  4. 20 points: 14 words
  5. 2121 points: 18 words
  6. 22 points: 25 words
  7. 2323 points: 6 words
  8. 24 points: 18 words
  9. 2525 points: 11 words
  10. 26 points: 6 words
  11. 2727 points: 1 words
  12. 28 points: 1 words
  13. 2929 points: 1 words
  14. 30 points: 0 words
  15. 3131 points: 1 words
  16. 32 points: 2 words
  17. 3333 points: 0 words
  18. 34 points: 1 words
  19. 3535 points: 0 words
  20. 36 points: 1 words
  21. 3737 points: 0 words
  22. 38 points: 0 words
  23. 3939 points: 0 words
  24. 40 points: 0 words
  25. 4141 points: 0 words
  26. 42 points: 0 words
  27. 4343 points: 0 words
  28. 44 points: 1 words
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
ZYZZYVAS4443All three
ZIZZLING3639All three
ZIZYPHUS3434Collins only
ZIGZAGGY3234Collins · NWL
ZAMZAWED3233Collins only
ZUGZWANG3135Collins · NWL
ZINCKIFY2930Collins only
ZWIEBACK2830All three
ZAMBUCKS2731Collins only
ZARZUELA2628All three
ZABAJONE2630All three
ZYMOLOGY2627All three

Z is worth 10 points, so an eight-letter Z word starts well ahead, and the average here is 21.4. Only ZEPPELIN is a common word, and NWL2023 accepts just 100 of the 173. ZYZZYVAS, ZUGZWANG and ZIGGURAT show the range.

The Z-word list at a glance

  • Second letters: O 65, A 31, E 30, I 28 and Y 14, with U 4 and W 1.
  • S ends 64 words, E ends 20, Y ends 15 and A ends 14.
  • Coverage: 171 words in Collins, 100 in NWL2023 and 91 in ENABLE.
  • ZEPPELIN is the only common word, and 138 have definitions.
  • ZYZZYVAS scores 44, ZIZZLING 36 and ZIZYPHUS 34.

Which second letter opens most Z-words?

O dominates with 65, from ZOONOTIC, ZODIACAL and ZOOMABLE to ZOETROPE. A and E are nearly level at 31 and 30: ZAIBATSU, ZAMINDAR and ZARZUELA against ZEALOTRY, ZEOLITES and ZEPPELIN.

I brings ZIGGURAT, ZILLIONS and ZIPPERED, and Y brings the more technical entries. Just two words, ZIZZLING and ZYZZYVAS, contain a double Z, which keeps the list from being dominated by the highest-scoring tiles. The typical entry scores in the low twenties, not the forties.

Why does ZYZZYVAS score 44?

ZYZZYVAS has three Zs worth 10 each, two Ys worth 4 and a V worth 4, and it is accepted in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE alike. On a real board it needs two blanks, so it scores 10 + 4 + 0 + 0 + 4 + 4 + 1 + 1 = 24.

ZUGZWANG, the chess term, scores 31 and is valid in NWL2023 and Collins but not ENABLE. ZAMZAWED scores 32 and is Collins-only. NWL2023 accepts only 100 of the 173 and ENABLE only 91, so verify the word in your game's lexicon before planning a turn around a high scorer.

How does eight letters compare?

Tip

Z starts 210 seven-letter words and 157 nine-letter ones. Eight letters at 173 sits between them, and S starts 5,265 eight-letter words for comparison.

Questions people ask

How many eight-letter words start with Z?
The pooled count is 173. Collins covers 171 of them, but NWL2023 covers 100 and ENABLE 91, so most eight-letter Z words work only in Collins games.
Which common word of eight letters starts with Z?
ZEPPELIN is the only one. It fits the common-word measure and is accepted in every major dictionary. Everything else in the list is specialist vocabulary, such as ZUCCHINI, ZIRCONIA and ZIGGURAT.
What is the highest-scoring 8-letter word starting with Z?
ZYZZYVAS scores 44 points, ahead of ZIZZLING at 36 and ZIZYPHUS at 34. ZIGZAGGY and ZAMZAWED score 32, and ZUGZWANG scores 31. ZYZZYVAS is valid in all three dictionaries.

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