Word Search
In Word Search you find eight hidden words in a 10 by 10 grid. Every listed word is really in there. Free, no install, no sign-up, no clock.
In Word Search, eight words are hidden in a grid of letters, running across, downwards or diagonally down-right. Drag from a word's first letter to its last to claim it.
about 21.9 KB
Works offline after the first visit. No install, no sign-up.
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How to play Word Search
Where the words come from
The words are drawn from a word list built for this site, grouped into themes such as animals, nature and transport. Every entry was written here rather than taken from a dictionary or a third party word source, so nothing on the page depends on an outside service.
Every listed word is really in the grid
The board is built by laying each word into the grid first, then filling the remaining squares with random letters. If any word cannot be placed, the whole board is thrown away and rebuilt rather than shipped with a word that is not there — searching for a word that was never placed is the one failure a player cannot diagnose.
Three directions only
Words run left to right, top to bottom, or diagonally down-right. There are no backwards words and no upward diagonals. That is deliberate: those make a board where a word is present but practically unfindable, and the player has no way to tell that from their own mistake.
Drag from first letter to last
Press on a word's first letter and drag to its last. The selection is only accepted if it runs in a straight line and reads exactly one of the listed words, so a stray drag cannot mark something by accident.
No clock
Nothing counts down and there is no penalty for a wrong drag. The status line keeps the list, crossing off each word as you find it.
Hints if you are stuck
The hint button outlines the first letter of a word you have not found yet, and counts how many hints you have used. It never reveals the word itself.
Word Search Tips and Strategy
Only three directions exist
Words run left to right, downwards, or diagonally down and to the right, and never the other way round. That narrows the search sharply: a run of letters that only reads correctly right to left is not one of the eight, so you can abandon it instead of hunting for a word that is not there.
Start from a rare first letter
Eight of the sixty words in the pool are hidden each round, and some first letters open ten different words while others open only two. Beginning with C or P produces a thicket of false trails, whereas A, E, G, H, I, K and L are cheap places to look and far easier to search exhaustively.
Take the long words first
The pool holds exactly one nine-letter word and one eight-letter word against eighteen of five letters and thirty-three of six. A long word lying across the grid is hard to misread and hard to lose, so clear those first and leave the common short ones for filling the gaps between them.
Word Search — Frequently Asked Questions
Is a word I cannot find actually in the grid?
Yes. Every word in the list was placed into the grid during generation, and the board is discarded and rebuilt if any word fails to fit. The check runs on every board.
Are there backwards words?
No. Only left to right, top to bottom, and diagonally down-right. There are no reversed or upward entries.
Is there a time limit?
None. The score is simply how many of the eight words you have found.
Does it need installing or an account?
No. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer and works offline after the first visit.
Selection guide: word games online