Words Starting With MAN
100 wordsWords beginning with MAN form one of English's most productive prefixes, connecting humanity to everything from labor to supernatural power. This collection spans ancient roots for 'hand' and 'human' that branch into manipulation, manufacture, and management.
3-letter words
14-letter words
45-letter words
166-letter words
167-letter words
138-letter words
169-letter words
1110-letter words
1111-letter words
412-letter words
613-letter words
2Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
The MAN- prefix carries double weight in word games, offering both common plays and obscure scoring opportunities.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
Two distinct Latin roots drive MAN- words. 'Manus' (hand) gives us manual, manipulate, and manufacture. 'Homo' through Old English 'mann' provides mankind, manly, and manager. This collision means MAN- words often relate to either human action or human nature itself. The prefix also absorbed the Polynesian 'mana' for spiritual power, showing English's global appetite.
Total Words
264
0.1% of dictionary
Avg Length
8.4 letters
3.1 syllables
Top Scrabble
MANGOLDWURZEL
29 points
Longest Word
MANEUVERABILITY
15 letters
Parts of Speech
At 77% nouns, MAN- words heavily favor naming things and people over actions. The average length of 8.4 letters reflects how these words build through suffixes—manager becomes managerial becomes managerialism.
Middle English dominates this pattern, reflecting how fundamental 'man' was to medieval vocabulary before Latin scholarly terms arrived. The journey of MANNER from Latin 'manēre' (to remain) through Old French shows how meaning drifted from 'dwelling place' to 'way of doing things.' MAN itself traces to Proto-Germanic, making it one of English's oldest surviving words.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
Short (2-4)
Medium (5-7)
unfulfilled or frustrated in realizing an ambition
Long (8+)
the quality of being maneuverable
the quality of being maneuverable
Short (2-4)
Medium (5-7)
unfulfilled or frustrated in realizing an ambition
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
Long (8+)
the quality of being maneuverable
in an artfully manipulative manner
MANJACK scores 22 in Scrabble but jumps to 27 in Words With Friends thanks to J's boosted value from 8 to 10 points. The common word MANKIND follows a similar pattern—the K makes it more valuable in WWF at 17 points. For medium-length plays, MANQUE (unfulfilled) offers solid returns in both games without requiring premium squares. The German-origin MANGOLDWURZEL tops both lists but rarely appears on boards.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
French painter whose work influenced the impressionists (1832-1883)
a Persian prophet who founded Manichaeism (216-276)
a large and imposing house
MANES and MANSE both test common vowels A and E while checking S placement. MANET adds the useful T for a stronger consonant spread.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
Longest
Shortest
Short MAN- words are rare because the prefix itself consumes three letters. Most builds require suffixes, pushing the average toward 8+ letters.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
possessing qualities befitting a man
large pasta tubes stuffed with chopped meat or mild cheese and baked in tomato sauce
type genus of the Manidae
characteristic of a man as distinguished from a woman
"true mannish arrogance"
MANFUL means possessing qualities befitting a man—courage, resolve, determination. It's fallen from everyday speech but remains valid in competitive play. The -FUL ending creates a useful hook for extending existing board words.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.