5-Letter Words Starting With HO

100 words

Five-letter words starting with HO span from the domestic to the exotic. You'll find everyday vocabulary like HOUSE and HORSE alongside Scottish terms and Japanese poetry forms, making this a surprisingly diverse corner of the dictionary.

Pattern Guide

Word recommendations for board games.

Word Games

High-value words for board games

Top 5-Letter Words

HOWFF
17 pts
HOKKU
16 pts
HOBBY

a child's plaything consisting of an imitation horse mounted on rockers; the child straddles it and pretends to ride

15 pts
HOKEY

artificially formal

15 pts
HONKY

(slang) offensive names for a White man

15 pts
HOOKY

failure to attend (especially school)

15 pts
HOWDY

an expression of greeting

15 pts
HOICK
14 pts

HOWFF and HOKKU battle for supremacy here, with HOWFF edging ahead in Scrabble at 17 points while they tie at 16 in Words With Friends. The real strategic value lies in the Y-ending words: HONKY scores 15 in Scrabble but drops to 14 in WWF, while HOOKY and HOKEY show similar point differences between games. HOKUM performs notably better in WWF at 15 points, making it worth prioritizing there over lower-scoring alternatives.

Wordle

5-letter words for daily puzzles

Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)

HORSEStarter

a chessman shaped to resemble the head of a horse; can move two squares horizontally and one vertically (or vice versa)

HORSTStarter

a ridge of the earth's crust that has been forced upward between two faults and so is higher than the surrounding land

HOSTAStarter

robust east Asian clump-forming perennial herbs having racemose flowers: plantain lilies; sometimes placed in family Hostaceae

Common Words (likely answers)

HOUSECommon

provide housing for

HONEYCommon

a beloved person; used as terms of endearment

HOURSCommon

an indefinite period of time

HOTELCommon

a building where travelers can pay for lodging and meals and other services

HORSE offers strong opening coverage with two vowels and the common consonants R and S. HORST and HOSTA provide alternatives that test different letter combinations while maintaining solid vowel presence.

Hidden Gems

Rare but valid words to surprise opponents

HOARY

showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair

"nodded his hoary head"

HOURI

a voluptuously beautiful young woman

HOPER

a person who hopes

"only an avid hoper could expect the team to win now"

HOTLY

in a heated manner

"the children were arguing hotly"

HOARY means showing characteristics of age, especially having grey or white hair. Beyond its poetic applications, it's a Scrabble-friendly five-letter word that places a valuable Y on the board while using only common tiles.

Popular crossword answers

Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.

More "HO" Pages

Browse words by longer letter combinations starting with "HO".