Words Containing IN
100 wordsThe letter combination IN appears in nearly twenty thousand English words, making it one of the most versatile patterns in the language. From the simple two-letter word IN itself to medical terminology stretching twenty letters long, this pattern spans everyday vocabulary and specialized jargon alike.
2-letter words
13-letter words
14-letter words
125-letter words
146-letter words
227-letter words
318-letter words
119-letter words
310-letter words
311-letter words
2Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
Words containing IN offer reliable scoring opportunities across word games, with several high-value options that can transform a losing board into a winning one.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
IN functions as both a standalone word and a building block for countless others. As a suffix, -ING creates present participles and gerunds from virtually any verb. The prefix IN- carries dual meanings—it can indicate negation (as in INVISIBLE) or location (as in INLAND). This versatility explains why IN appears so frequently across all word lengths.
Total Words
19,915
6.6% of dictionary
Avg Length
9.8 letters
3.5 syllables
Top Scrabble
HYPOPHYSECTOMIZING
48 points
Longest Word
ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIN
20 letters
Parts of Speech
These words average 9.8 letters and 3.5 syllables, reflecting how IN often appears within longer, more complex vocabulary. The part of speech distribution skews heavily toward nouns at 64%, with adjectives claiming 26%—likely due to the productive -INE and -ING endings that generate descriptive words.
Middle English and Latin dominate the origins of IN-containing words, reflecting the massive linguistic shift that occurred after the Norman Conquest. The etymology chain of ADAMANTINE illustrates this layering perfectly: from Ancient Greek through Latin into Middle English. Celtic contributions appear too, as seen in KAIN's journey from Proto-Celtic through Old Irish to modern English.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
Short (2-4)
an evil spell
a bluish-white lustrous metallic element; brittle at ordinary temperatures but malleable when heated; used in a wide variety of alloys and in galvanizing iron; it occurs naturally as zinc sulphide in zinc blende
Medium (5-7)
hissing and bubbling
noisy like the sound of a bee
the Muslim official of a mosque who summons the faithful to prayer from a minaret five times a day
Long (8+)
Short (2-4)
an evil spell
a bluish-white lustrous metallic element; brittle at ordinary temperatures but malleable when heated; used in a wide variety of alloys and in galvanizing iron; it occurs naturally as zinc sulphide in zinc blende
Medium (5-7)
noisy like the sound of a bee
hissing and bubbling
the Muslim official of a mosque who summons the faithful to prayer from a minaret five times a day
Long (8+)
JINX leads both Scrabble (18 points) and Words With Friends (21 points), but the three-point difference matters in close games. BUZZING and FIZZING swap rankings between games—FIZZING scores higher in Scrabble while BUZZING takes the lead in WWF. For truly massive plays, HYPOPHYSECTOMIZING tops both charts, though finding space for 18 letters requires creative board management.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
TRAIN and SAINT make excellent Wordle openers, each testing the common consonants T, R, N, S while checking two vowels. STAIN offers similar coverage with a different letter arrangement, useful when you want to try A and I in new positions.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
The twenty-letter ADRENOCORTICOTROPHIN represents medical terminology's tendency to stack Greek and Latin roots. Meanwhile, two-letter IN survives as a fundamental preposition, proving that utility trumps length in everyday language.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
strong green liqueur flavored with wormwood and anise
in a very painful manner
"the progress was agonizingly slow"
pH values above 7
mountain climbing (not restricted to the Alps)
ABSINTH deserves attention as the variant spelling of the famous green liqueur flavored with wormwood and anise. Most players know ABSINTHE, but this seven-letter version plays without the final E—saving a tile while scoring identically. It's valid in both major word games.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.