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More About 8 Letter Words

As satisfying as it might be to lay down 12 letter words in your FAVORITE word game, the truth is those opportunities are few and far between. For STARTERS, you only have 7 letter tiles in your rack, so you’d need to build on 5 letters that are already on the board and in the right order to play a 12 letter word. By comparison, 8 letter words are among the highest scoring words in games like Scrabble® and Words With Friends®. Rake in that bingo bonus, play some high value tiles, and you’ll be well on your way to leaving the competition in the dust.

Highest Scoring 8 Letter Scrabble Words

First, a bit of a sobering truth. Theoretically, some of the highest scoring Scrabble® words with 8 letters include PIZZAZZY (49 points) and ZYZZYVAS (44 points). To say something is pizzazzy is to describe it as full of spirit and vigor. A zyzzyva is a type of tropical American weevil.

The bad news is that since there is only one Z tile in the game, it would be impossible to play either word for that many points. You could play ZYZZYVAS with the two blank tiles, but you’d only get 24 points since blanks are worth zero points.

Similarly, it would be great to play words like BEZAZZES or JAZZLIKE for 37 points, ZIZZLING for 36 points, or QUIZZERS for 35 points, but you’d again be limited by the Scrabble® letter tile distribution. So, with that in mind, what are some of the highest scoring 8 letter Scrabble® words you can actually play for big points? 

You could play QUIZZING for 26 points or JAZZIEST for 23 points if you used a blank in place of one of the Zs. Similarly, BUZZKILL and BUZZWORD are each worth 22 points with a blank for the second Z. If you use a blank for the second K, you can play KOLKHOZY for 21 points. 

Highest Scoring Words Without a Blank

If you don’t have a blank tile, you might play one of these words instead:

• SOVKOZY (30 points): A type of state-run collective farming

• QUINZHEE (29 points): A shelter made from a hollowed out pile of snow

• BEZIQUES (28 points): A two-player card game similar to pinochle

• CAZIQUES (28 points): Type of orioles native to the American tropics

• CHECKBOX (28 points): A place on a form to be marked in response to a question

• HIGHJACK (28 points): To steal by force

• KAZACHOC (28 points): A traditional Ukrainian folk dance

• MAXIMIZE (28 points): To make as great as possible

• MEZQUITE (28 points): The wood of certain trees and shrubs used for smoking food

Are There 8 Letter Words Without Vowels?

You’ll certainly find several 8 letter words with K, like AARDVARK, REINVOKE and KILOBARS. There are also plenty of words with 8 letters using V, like AVENGERS, INVENTED and VAPORIZE. Unfortunately, there are no 8 letter words with no vowels. If we exclude Y as a “sometimes” vowel, the longest words without vowels include “tsktsks” and “crwths.” 

What can you do when you’re short on vowels? You might try playing words with 8 letters and only one vowel. Look SKYWARDS and start from a place of STRENGTH! Then, you’ll PROMPTLY unearth a SYMPHONY of 8 letter words with STRICTLY one vowel. With some practice, you’ll be playing less common words like TRIPTYCH, FLYSPECK, KLYSTRON and PORPHYRY in no time.