Words Starting With FO
100 wordsWords beginning with FO cover remarkable ground, from the primitive FOB and FOE to compound constructions like FORETHOUGHTFULNESS. This collection spans everyday vocabulary and specialized terms, offering word game players scoring opportunities at every length.
3-letter words
54-letter words
165-letter words
96-letter words
187-letter words
168-letter words
189-letter words
1110-letter words
311-letter words
4Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
The FO pattern rewards players who balance common vocabulary with strategic letter placement.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
FO words cluster around several productive roots. The Latin 'forma' gives us FORMAT, FORMAL, and FORMULARIZATION. Old English contributes foundational words like FOLLOW and FOOT, which then spawn compounds—FOOTFALL, FOOTPLATE, FOOTLESS. The prefix FORE- (meaning 'before') generates dozens of planning-related terms, culminating in the impressive FORETHOUGHTFULNESS.
Total Words
879
0.3% of dictionary
Avg Length
8.5 letters
2.8 syllables
Top Scrabble
FORETHOUGHTFULLY
32 points
Longest Word
FORETHOUGHTFULNESS
18 letters
Parts of Speech
With 61% nouns and an average length of 8.5 letters, FO words tend toward substantial compound forms. The 21% adjective presence reflects productive suffixing patterns—FOXLIKE, FOZY, FOXY—that create vivid descriptors from short base words.
Middle English dominates this pattern, often preserving words that trace back further to Old English or Germanic roots. The FOLLOW chain exemplifies this journey: from Proto-Germanic through Old English to Middle English. Latin and French contributions entered later, typically through Norman influence, giving us more formal vocabulary like FORMAT and FORCEMEAT.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
FOXHUNT scores 21 in WWF but follows standard scoring in Scrabble, making it a WWF priority. The short powerhouses FOZY and FOXY both leverage the 10-point Y, with FOZY offering a rare Z-word without Q-like constraints. For maximum impact, FOXLIKE nets 21 in Scrabble but jumps to 22 in WWF. Long words like FORETHOUGHTFULLY score in the low 30s across both games—satisfying but rarely practical.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
used as a direction in music; to be played relatively loudly
FORTE makes a solid starter with two vowels (O, E) plus the common consonants R and T. It tests letter positions that appear frequently in five-letter solutions.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
Short FO words like FOB, FOE, and FOG are Germanic survivors—direct, concrete, and phonetically simple. The longest forms like FORETHOUGHTFULNESS stack prefixes and suffixes onto these ancient cores, showing how English builds complexity through agglutination.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
FOOTPLATE refers to the platform where a locomotive engineer stands to operate controls. Beyond its transportation history, it's a valid compound that might surprise opponents expecting only common FOOT- words. The specific technical meaning makes it memorable once learned.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.