3 Letter Words Starting With AB
There are 15 valid 3 letter words that start with AB, 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 (15)
View all words starting with ABTop 20 Highest-Scoring 3 Letter Words Starting With ab
Point values shown for US Scrabble, UK Scrabble, and Words With Friends. The average across this full 15 word list is 19.0 combined points.
| Rank | Word | US Scrabble | UK Scrabble | WWF Points | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | aba | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #2 | abb | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| #3 | abc | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| #4 | abd | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| #5 | abe | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #6 | abl | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| #7 | abn | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| #8 | abo | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #9 | abp | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 |
| #10 | abr | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #11 | abs | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #12 | abt | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| #13 | abu | 5 | 5 | 7 | 17 |
| 🏆 #14 | abv | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 |
| #15 | 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 AB will give you far more flexible options try 3 letter words starting with AB for a more practical middle ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest-scoring 3 letter word starting with ab?
abv — worth 26 combined points (US Scrabble: 8, UK Scrabble: 8, Words With Friends: 10).
How many 3 letter words start with ab?
15 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 ab words will come up far more often.