Crossword Solver

The Crossword Solver is a free, online crossword pattern solver. You type the letters you already know and a ? for each unknown letter, and it lists every English word of that exact length that fits. It works as a crossword helper for filling a gap in a grid, but it is not a clue lookup: it does not read clues or search a database of clue answers. Everything runs in your browser, nothing you type is sent anywhere, and there is no sign-up. It also works as a word finder by pattern for any puzzle where you know the number of letters.

How to use the Crossword Solver

1. Count the letters in the answer. Use the number shown with the clue, or count the empty squares in the grid.
2. Type the letters you know into the pattern box, and use ? for each unknown letter. For example, type M?G?? for a five-letter word that starts with M and has G as its third letter. You can also use _ or . for unknown letters; they are treated as ?.
3. If you know a letter must appear in the word but not where, type it into the “Must also contain letters” box (up to 10 letters). The word must contain each of them somewhere.
4. Click Find Matching Words, or press Enter in either box.
5. Read the list. The most common words come first, then the rarer ones. Offensive words and vowel-less abbreviations are left out. The line “N words of L letters fit PATTERN” tells you how many matched.
6. Choose the word that fits the clue and the letters you have from crossing answers.

To see how it works before you start, click Try an Example, which fills in C?O?S. For a phrase such as ICE CREAM, type the letters without the space and count all 8 letters in the pattern. The list holds single words only, so phrases are not found as such. Patterns must be 2 to 20 characters, and a pattern with no ? needs at least 3 letters. If the results are long, only the first 400 are shown, and “…” means there are more.

What is a crossword puzzle? (crossword definition)

A crossword is a grid of white squares, where letters go, and black squares, which separate the words. Entries run Across and Down. Each numbered square starts an entry, and the clue with the same number and direction gives its answer. The first modern crossword was published by Arthur Wynne in the New York World on 21 December 1913. It was diamond-shaped.

How to play a crossword

Start with the clues you are sure about, such as fill-in-the-blank clues and short ones. Write in those answers, then use the letters they share with other entries to unlock harder clues. Each answer must fit its letter count and every crossing letter. If one answer is wrong, the mismatch will show up in a crossing entry, so check crossings before you commit.

Crossword puzzle rules

Two rules hold for almost every crossword. First, a crossing letter belongs to both answers it sits in, so it must satisfy both clues. Second, the answer length is fixed by the number of squares. A solution with an extra or missing letter does not fit, even if it matches the clue’s meaning. Some British-style puzzles show the length in brackets after the clue, which makes this check easy.

What is a crossword rebus?

A rebus is a puzzle trick in which one square holds more than one letter, or a symbol, so that a longer answer fits a short space. The solver matches one letter per position, so it does not model rebus squares. If a pattern gives no results, a rebus may be the reason, and you should try the crossing clues first.

How does a crossword pattern solver work?

A crossword pattern solver compares the letters you know with a word list. Each ? matches any letter, and each known letter must match exactly. It keeps only words with the same length as the pattern. This is why a pattern with more known letters gives fewer results. A short pattern with several unknowns, such as ?????, returns more than four thousand words, and only the first 400 are shown, so add crossing letters where you can.

Crossword puzzle tips

Work on the grid as a whole rather than one clue at a time. Plurals ending in S and past tenses ending in ED are common in answers, so check those endings when a crossing gives you a final letter. When you are stuck, leave the entry and return later, since a new crossing letter often makes it obvious.

Mini crossword tips

A mini crossword is smaller, so the answers are shorter and the grid has fewer crossings. Start with the three- and four-letter entries, because they are quick to test with a pattern. Read each clue closely. Check every crossing before you enter a letter.

Frequently asked questions

Does the crossword solver solve clues?

No. It matches letter patterns against a word list. It does not read clue text, so you choose the answer from the list by checking the clue and your crossing letters.

Is the crossword solver free?

Yes. The tool is free to use. It runs in your browser, and there is no sign-up.

Can I use it as a crossword helper for a whole grid?

It helps with one entry at a time. Enter the letters you know from crossing answers as a pattern, then check each result against the clue. It does not fill a whole grid.

Why is my phrase not found?

The list holds single words only, and phrases such as ICE CREAM are not stored as such. Type the phrase without spaces and count all letters, but expect that the phrase itself may not appear.

Why are some words I expect missing?

Proper nouns, phrases and some names are often missing from the word list. Check your letter count and any crossing letters, since a wrong letter also removes a word.

Is this a crossword clue solver?

It is a letter-pattern matcher that you can use when solving a clue. It does not look up clues or answers by their text, so it cannot tell you which word a clue asks for.

What if the results show “…”?

It means there are more matches than the first 400 shown. Add known letters or a crossing letter to shorten the list.

Related tools

• Word Finder: Use it when you want words that contain certain letters, not just a fixed pattern.
• Crossword Maker: Use it to build your own crossword grid and print it.
• Mini Crossword Maker: Use it to create a small grid with short entries.
• Word Unscrambler: Use it when you have all the letters of a word but not their order.
• Anagram Solver: Use it to find words made from a fixed set of letters.
• Criss-Cross Puzzle Maker: Use it to make a criss-cross style puzzle from your own word list.
• Codeword Solver: Use it for number-grid puzzles where each number stands for a letter.
• Hangman: Use it to play a word-guessing game.