Rare & High-Scoring Scrabble Words

An Arabian shrub (Catha edulis) whose leaves are chewed as a stimulant; one of the few Q-without-U words legal in tournament play.

A type of rough, blocky basaltic lava flow; one of the highest-value two-letter plays because it lets you place an A alongside a Q or Z.

A variant of chi or qi; one of the rare two-letter words containing K, valuable for hooking off an existing I.

The British name for the letter Z; heavily used by top players because it places a 10-point Z on a double-letter or triple-word square.

The vital life force in Chinese philosophy; the single most important two-letter word in tournament Scrabble because it lets you play a Q without a U.

Scottish for 'sweetheart' or 'darling'; a 9-point two-letter word that pairs a J with an O and is a staple of every competitive player's hook list.

Slang for pizza; a 11-point two-letter word that lets a Z sit beside an A — one of the most useful power-tile hooks in the game.

The 14th letter of the Greek alphabet; a 9-point two-letter word that places an X next to an I — essential for parallel plays.

A former monetary unit of Vietnam; a 9-point two-letter word pairing an X with a U, useful when no I is available to form XI.

A domesticated bovine; a 9-point two-letter word whose X makes it one of the strongest defensive hooks against a parallel Q or Z play.

A letter of the Hebrew alphabet; a 4-letter Q-without-U word worth 18 points and one of the highest-scoring short hooks in the game.

A Muslim or Hindu ascetic mendicant; a variant spelling of fakir and a Q-without-U word worth 17 points.

A round, filled Polish doughnut (singular paczek, plural paczki); a 23-point play that opens hooks for a Z and a K.

Yiddish for 'to sweat' or 'a steam bath'; a 21-point word packing both a Z and an H, ideal for parallel plays.

A Spanish-derived term for an irrigation supervisor or ditch-rider; a 7-letter bingo that uses a Z and a J on the same rack.

Indigenous tribal chiefs (plural of cazique); one of the highest-scoring opening plays ever recorded in competitive Scrabble when placed across two triple-word squares.

An anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical; the theoretical highest-scoring single Scrabble move ever computed (1,778 points across three triple-word squares), though it has never been played in a real game.

Russian peasants (plural of muzjik); the highest-scoring opening move in tournament Scrabble history — 128 points across a double-word and a triple-letter square, played by Jesse Inman in 2008.

Extravagantly idealistic or impractical; a 26-point word using both a Q and an X — one of the rarest letter combinations legal in Scrabble.

Showy, flashy activity; a 10-letter bingo packing three Z's and worth 39 base points — a memorable rack-clearing play when the tiles align.

A communal agricultural settlement in Israel; a 7-letter bingo worth 24 points that combines a K, two B's and a Z on one rack.

A small wallaby-like marsupial from Western Australia; a 24-point word that pairs a Q with a K, valuable for tile-heavy racks.

The superlative of jazzy; an 8-letter bingo worth 31 points thanks to two Z's — a dream rack for any tournament player.

A brilliantly coloured Central American bird (and Guatemala's currency unit); a 7-letter bingo worth 25 points that uses both a Q and a Z.

Attractive flair or style; one of the highest-value 7-letter words in Scrabble at 45 base points, using two Zs and a third Z-bonus — a tournament player's dream rack-clearer.

In a jazzy or lively manner; a 7-tile bingo using two Zs and a J, opening for 85 points with the bingo bonus.

Something conspicuously effective or a small artillery shell; a 9-letter word worth 36 points using two Zs in adjacent squares.

Slang for a person's nose; a 9-letter word with two Zs worth 32 points, useful for parallel plays landing the Z on a double-letter square.

To chat or network informally; a 9-letter word with two Zs worth 24 points and a useful rack-clearer for a Z-heavy hand.

A Sufi Islamic devotional act of repeated remembrance; a 13-point word that pairs a D, H and K with no vowels between them.

A form of Hindu and Buddhist meditation; a 13-point word with three consonants in a row and a Y functioning as a vowel.

A cold, wet sea fog that rolls in off the North Sea along the eastern coasts of Scotland and England.

A Scots and Northern English word for cold, rainy, and dreary weather; a 12-point play combining a C, H and a doubled letter.

A medieval mnemonic for the tones of the Gregorian 'seculorum Amen' cadence; the longest all-vowel word in English Scrabble (six vowels, no consonants) and famous for being playable with no standard consonant tiles.

A Welsh word for a cirque or steep bowl-shaped mountain valley; a 3-letter word with no standard vowels (W acts as one) worth 10 points.

An ancient Celtic stringed instrument; a 5-letter word with no standard vowels (W acts as one) worth 13 points and a trophy word for vowel-light racks.

A Welsh word for a cupboard, or a cuddle/hug; another no-standard-vowel word (W acts as the vowel) worth 13 points, popularised by competitive players.

An astronomical term for the alignment of three celestial bodies; a 6-letter word with three Y's and no standard vowels, worth 25 points.

A strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound; a 6-letter word with no standard vowels (Y acts as one) and a tournament favourite for dumping an unwanted H rack.

An exclamation used to express that one feels cold; a 4-letter word with no vowels at all, worth 6 points and a useful dump for a B-heavy rack.

To utter a sound expressing disapproval; a 6-letter word with no vowels and worth 14 points — one of the strangest legal plays in the dictionary.

An interjection expressing mild annoyance; a 5-letter word with no vowels at all, worth 15 points, and one of the rarest letter patterns legal in Scrabble.

A coin-operated record player; a 7-tile bingo packing a J, K and X that clears the rack for a 77-point opening move plus the bingo bonus. Valid in five languages' dictionaries.

The accumulated stakes in a game won at once; a 7-tile bingo using a J and a K that opens with 72 points including the bingo bonus.

A rubber-bladed tool for wiping windows; a 7-tile bingo with two Q-clearing vowels that opens for 68 points with the bingo bonus.

To make something quiz-like; one of the highest-scoring 7-tile bingos in the dictionary at 41 base points (91 with the bingo bonus), using a Q and two Zs on the same rack.

A Muslim tribal leader or local official; a 4-letter Q-without-U word worth 14 points and one of the most common emergency plays when you draw a Q.

An underground irrigation tunnel used in Iran; a 5-letter Q-without-U word worth 14 points that opens a clean hook for an existing A.

Short for a tranquilizer; a 5-letter Q-without-U word worth 14 points that's a handy dump when the Q lands with no U in sight.

A form of Islamic divorce; a 5-letter Q-without-U word worth 14 points and a recognizable pattern for tournament players who need to dump the Q quickly.

A loose garment covering the whole body worn by some Muslim women; a 5-letter Q-without-U word worth 16 points and valid in three languages' dictionaries.

An alternative spelling of the Israeli currency shekel; a 6-letter Q-without-U word worth 18 points and a famous tournament rescue play.

A Hasidic spiritual leader; a 7-letter Q-without-U bingo worth 18 base points (68 with the bingo bonus) and one of the rarest Q-dumps that clears the whole rack.

An alternative spelling of Kabbalah; a 6-letter Q-without-U word worth 17 points and a high-value bingo rescue when a Q is stuck with low-value consonants.

A style of South African township music; a 7-tile Q-without-U bingo worth 22 base points (72 with the bingo bonus) and one of the most unusual rack-clearers in the dictionary.