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Crossword Solver

Type your crossword clue's letter pattern — letters you know, plus ? or .for each blank square — and see every English word that fits. B?T??R matches BATTER, BETTER, BITTER, BUTLER, BUTTER. ????ING matches every 7-letter -ING word.

For cryptic clues with anagram indicators, use the anagram solver on the fodder word instead.

Fixed length — the number of characters you type is the word length.

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How pattern search works

Every character in your pattern is either a fixed letter (must match exactly at that position) or an unknown (? or .) that matches any letter. The word length equals the pattern length, so ?A?E is exactly 4 letters and never returns HATE or MADE (both 4) — just any 4-letter word whose second character is A and fourth is E.

This is the fastest way to fill in crossing letters from a partial crossword grid. Once you've solved a few crossing clues, plug the remaining pattern into this tool and the number of options usually shrinks to a handful.

Crossword-solving strategy

  1. Start with the shortest clues. 3- and 4-letter answers have fewer possibilities and usually have obvious answers.
  2. Solve intersecting clues in parallel. Every letter you place halves the possibilities for its two crossing entries.
  3. Trust common patterns. ?OO? is BOOK, LOOK, MOOD, POOR, TOOK. ?LY_ or _LY? follows -LY suffixes.
  4. Watch clue tenses. "Sighed" wants a past-tense verb ending in -ED; "sighing" wants -ING; "quickly" wants -LY.
  5. Multi-word phrases. Some grids omit spaces — a 9-letter answer might be "ONE MORE TIME" with the spaces removed.

Cryptic vs quick crosswords

Quick (or "definition-only") crosswords give you a straight definition of the answer and rely on crossing letters to disambiguate. This solver is ideal for them — enter the pattern, read the matches, pick the one that fits the clue's meaning.

Cryptic crosswords wrap the definition in wordplay: anagrams, hidden words, deletions, homophones, reversals, container/contents. The definition is always at one end of the clue, the wordplay at the other. This pattern solver still helps once you have crossing letters, but the primary tool for cracking a cryptic is the wordplay itself.

British cryptic staples

UK cryptics love very short indicator words. A few worth memorising:

  • Anagram indicators: broken, twisted, cooked, upset, wild, mixed, arranged.
  • Hidden-word indicators: in, some, part of, contains, some of.
  • Homophone indicators: sounds like, heard, reportedly, on the radio.
  • Reversal indicators: back, returning, up (in a down clue), reversed, west.
  • Deletion indicators: without, losing, missing, short, docked.

Related

FAQs

What pattern format does this accept?

Use a letter for every letter you know and ? or . for each unknown. So B?T??R matches BUTTER, BATTER, BITTER. Word length is fixed to the length of the pattern you type.

Does this solve cryptic clues?

No — cryptic clues need semantic reasoning, not just letter patterns. For anagram-style cryptic clues, use our anagram solver on the fodder word. For pattern-only clues (e.g. 'What fits _R_N_T_?'), this solver is ideal.

Can I search a pattern without knowing any letters?

You can, but ?????? matches every 6-letter word — thousands of results. Add at least one or two known letters for useful output.

Does this include British and American crossword vocabulary?

The dictionary skews to standard English. It handles British-only spellings (COLOUR, CENTRE, FAVOURITE) and American ones (COLOR, CENTER, FAVORITE).

How do I search for a word ending in specific letters?

Use ? for the unknown positions: ????ING finds every 7-letter word ending in ING. To constrain further, add known letters where you have them.