Words Starting With PU
100 wordsWords beginning with PU span from everyday terms like PUB and PUG to the gloriously elaborate PULCHRITUDINOUS. This collection offers puzzle enthusiasts some of the highest-scoring opportunities in word games, thanks to the Z-heavy cluster around PUZZLE and its variants.
3-letter words
64-letter words
185-letter words
136-letter words
207-letter words
158-letter words
119-letter words
910-letter words
511-letter words
212-letter words
1Pattern Guide
Insights and recommendations for these words.
The PU pattern delivers both quick tactical plays and impressive point totals, making it essential territory for competitive word gamers.
Vocabulary & Language
Linguistic patterns and usage statistics
The Latin prefix PUB- (meaning 'adult' or 'public') generates numerous English words around maturity and community. Meanwhile, PU- words often carry imitative origins—PUFF, PUKE, and PUTT all echo the sounds they describe. The cluster around PUZZLE traces back through French to a now-obscure verb meaning 'to bewilder,' which seems appropriately meta.
Total Words
508
0.2% of dictionary
Avg Length
7.9 letters
2.7 syllables
Top Scrabble
PUZZLINGLY
34 points
Longest Word
PULCHRITUDINOUS
15 letters
Parts of Speech
With 63% nouns and 22% adjectives, PU words lean heavily toward naming things rather than describing actions. The average length of 7.9 letters suggests this pattern favors fully-formed words over abbreviations and fragments.
Middle English dominates this pattern, reflecting words that entered the language during the medieval period of French influence on English courts and commerce. Latin contributions often arrived through scholarly and religious channels. The etymology of PUTZ reveals a fascinating journey from Latin 'pubes' through Romanian into Yiddish before reaching American English—a reminder that words travel unexpected routes.
Word Games
High-value words for board games
Short (2-4)
Medium (5-7)
filled with bewilderment
a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
be a mystery or bewildering to
Long (8+)
confusion resulting from failure to understand
not clear to the understanding
Short (2-4)
Medium (5-7)
filled with bewilderment
a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
be a mystery or bewildering to
Long (8+)
confusion resulting from failure to understand
the business of drawing public attention to goods and services
PUZZLE and its variants dominate both games, but WWF rewards them more generously—PUZZLED scores 31 points in WWF versus 28 in Scrabble, thanks to WWF's boosted Z value. PUJA offers solid returns in both games (17 in WWF, 13 in Scrabble) for just four letters. The real strategic difference emerges in longer plays: PUZZLEMENT nets 37 points in WWF compared to 32 in Scrabble, making Z-focused PU words particularly valuable in Words With Friends.
Wordle
5-letter words for daily puzzles
Good Starters (E, A, R, S, T)
gather or contract into wrinkles or folds; pucker
PURSE covers two vowels (U and E) while testing the common consonants R and S. It's a solid second or third guess when you've ruled out more frequent starting letters.
Length Extremes
Longest and shortest valid words
Short PU words like PUB and PUG often derive from clipped forms or simple sound symbolism, while longer specimens typically carry Latin or French suffixes that expanded root words into adjectives and abstract nouns.
Hidden Gems
Rare but valid words to surprise opponents
in a manner accessible to or observable by the public; openly
made known; especially made widely known
a property characteristic of a child
of or relating to pugilism or pugilists
"a pugilistic career"
PUGILISTIC means 'of or relating to pugilism or pugilists'—essentially, pertaining to boxing. Beyond its obvious use in sports writing, this word delivers strong Scrabble value with its unusual letter combination. It's the kind of vocabulary that impresses both on the board and in conversation.
Popular crossword answers
Words frequently used in crossword puzzles with common clues.