3 Letter Words Starting With A
There are 179 valid 3 letter words that start with A, drawn from NWL2023, CSW24, and Words With Friends. Sorted below by score, with the single highest scorer called out.
Highest Scoring 3-Letter Words
US Scrabble (NWL)
abv - 8 points
UK Scrabble (CSW)
abv - 8 points
Words With Friends
abv - 10 points
3 Letter Words (179)
View all words starting with ATop 20 Highest-Scoring 3 Letter Words Starting With a
Point values shown for US Scrabble, UK Scrabble, and Words With Friends. The average across this full 179 word list is 17.3 combined points.
| Rank | Word | US Scrabble | UK Scrabble | WWF Points | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | aaa | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| #2 | aah | 6 | 6 | 5 | 17 |
| #3 | aal | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| #4 | aam | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #5 | aas | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| #6 | aba | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #7 | abb | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| #8 | abc | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| #9 | abd | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| #10 | abe | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #11 | abl | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| #12 | abn | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| #13 | abo | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #14 | abp | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| #15 | abr | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #16 | abs | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #17 | abt | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #18 | abu | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| 🏆 #19 | abv | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 |
| #20 | aby | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 |
Where 3 Letter Words Fit on the Board
At 3 letters, a word almost always uses your entire rack plus tiles already on the board these are realistically bingo-adjacent plays rather than everyday moves, which is why the list leans heavily on compound and suffixed forms (-nesses, -ation, -izing). If you're looking for words you can play more often, shorter lengths starting with A will give you far more flexible options try 3 letter words starting with A for a more practical middle ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest-scoring 3 letter word starting with a?
abv — worth 26 combined points (US Scrabble: 8, UK Scrabble: 8, Words With Friends: 10).
How many 3 letter words start with a?
179 valid words, combining entries from NWL2023, CSW24, and the Words With Friends dictionary.
Are 3 letter words realistic to actually play?
Only occasionally — you'd need most of your rack plus letters already on the board to reach 3 tiles. They're worth knowing for the rare bingo-extension play, but for regular turns, shorter a words will come up far more often.