Crossword Solver

Crossword Solver — Find Crossword Clues & Answers Instantly

Stuck on a stubborn clue? Our crossword solver turns the letters you already have into a shortlist of crossword clue answers in a single click. Choose how many letters the answer has, fill in the squares you know from crossing clues, leave the unknown squares blank, and the solver checks every possibility against a dictionary of more than 190,000 words — then shows only the words that fit. Click any answer to read its meaning and confirm it's the one your crossword clue is looking for.

It works for every kind of puzzle — the daily newspaper grid, the New York Times crossword, cryptic crosswords, quick crosswords, and puzzle apps. Whenever you know the answer length and a few crossing letters, this is the fastest way to find the crossword puzzle answers you're missing.

How to Use the Crossword Solver to Get the Answers

There are two ways to reach an answer, and you can combine them. Solve by the letters you already have, or — when you understand what the clue means — solve by the clue itself. Most of the time you'll do both: enter the length and any crossing letters, then add the clue to rank the results by meaning.

How to Solve a Crossword Clue

A crossword clue gives you two things: a definition (or wordplay) and a letter count. You rarely need to crack the wordplay to make progress — once a few crossing answers give you letters, the pattern alone usually reveals the answer. Here's the reliable method:

• Count the squares. The number of blank squares is the exact length of the crossword answer — set that as your letter count.
• Fill in every crossing letter. Letters shared with answers you've already solved are the biggest clues you have. Enter them in the matching boxes.
• Let the solver do the rest. With the length and a couple of letters locked in, the crossword clue solver lists only the words that fit — often just one or two.
• Confirm the meaning. Click an answer to check its definition against the clue's wording before you write it in.

Crossword Solving Strategies

• Use crossing letters aggressively. Every letter you confirm from a crossing answer dramatically reduces the candidate crossword answers for an unknown word.
• Count letters precisely. Miscounting by one letter is the most common mistake; re-count the blank squares in the grid before you set the answer length.
• Solve the easy clues first. Work through the clues you know across the whole puzzle before the hard ones — each solved answer hands you crossing letters for the next.
• Look for common short answers. Crossword constructors love 3-letter answers like ERA, ATE, ORE, EEL, and ALT — learn the frequent ones.
• Know your crosswordese. Words rarely used in daily speech (ETUI, OLEO, ERNE, SNEE, ADIT) turn up constantly in crossword answers — keep them in mind.
• Watch clue signals. A question mark hints at a pun, an abbreviation in the clue signals an abbreviated answer, and "perhaps" or "say" often flags an example.

Crossword Answers vs. Anagram & Word Solvers

A crossword solver matches a fixed letter pattern — you know some positions and the total length. That's different from an anagram solver, which rearranges a set of letters into new words, or a word unscrambler, which finds every word hidden in a jumble of tiles. If your clue is really a jumble or you have loose letters rather than a pattern, those tools are the better fit; for a numbered grid with crossing letters, the crossword clue solver above is the one you want.

Most Common Crossword Answers (Crosswordese)

Some words appear in crosswords far more often than in everyday writing, simply because their friendly vowel-heavy spelling helps constructors fill the grid. Puzzlers call this vocabulary “crosswordese.” Learn the regulars below and you'll recognise a crossword answer the moment you read the clue:

Common Crossword Abbreviations

When a clue is itself abbreviated — or ends with “for short,” “briefly,” or “Abbr.” — the answer is an abbreviation too. These short forms show up in grids constantly:

How to Solve Cryptic Crossword Clues

A cryptic crossword clue is really two clues in one: a straight definition (at the start or end of the clue) plus a piece of wordplay that spells the same answer a second way. The letter count is your anchor. Once you spot which wordplay device is in play — and the little “indicator” words that flag it — cryptic answers fall into place. Here are the six devices you'll meet most often:

Tip: in the anagram example, “broadcast” signals that the letters of SILENT should be rearranged, and “Hear” is the definition of the answer LISTEN — same six letters, two different ways. Whenever you already have a crossing letter or two, drop them into the solver above and let the pattern confirm your cryptic answer.

Crossword Answers by Number of Letters

Most searches for help start with a length — “four-letter word for …” or “a 5-letter crossword answer.” The solver above is built exactly for that: set the number of letters first, and every result is guaranteed to be the right length. As a rough guide, 3-letter answers lean on crosswordese and abbreviations (ERA, ADO, ODE), 4- and 5-letter answers are the workhorses of most grids, and longer answers are usually the themed entries — so lock in any crossing letters you have and let them do the heavy lifting.

Famous Crossword Puzzles Worth Trying

The crossword was born on December 21, 1913, when journalist Arthur Wynne published a diamond-shaped “word-cross” in the New York World. A century later it's a global daily ritual — and a handful of puzzles have become institutions in their own right. Once you've cracked a few clues with the solver above, these are the grids worth graduating to:

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Tools