3 Letter Words Starting With W
There are 73 valid 3 letter words that start with W, 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)
waz - 15 points
UK Scrabble (CSW)
waz - 15 points
Words With Friends
waz - 15 points
3 Letter Words (73)
View all words starting with WTop 20 Highest-Scoring 3 Letter Words Starting With w
Point values shown for US Scrabble, UK Scrabble, and Words With Friends. The average across this full 73 word list is 24.1 combined points.
| Rank | Word | US Scrabble | UK Scrabble | WWF Points | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | wab | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| #2 | wac | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| #3 | wad | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| #4 | wae | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| #5 | waf | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| #6 | wag | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 |
| #7 | wah | 9 | 9 | 8 | 26 |
| #8 | wai | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| #9 | wan | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| #10 | wap | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| #11 | war | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| #12 | was | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| #13 | wat | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| #14 | waw | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 |
| #15 | wax | 13 | 13 | 13 | 39 |
| #16 | way | 9 | 9 | 8 | 26 |
| 🏆 #17 | waz | 15 | 15 | 15 | 45 |
| #18 | wea | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 |
| #19 | web | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 |
| #20 | wed | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
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 W will give you far more flexible options try 3 letter words starting with W for a more practical middle ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest-scoring 3 letter word starting with w?
waz — worth 45 combined points (US Scrabble: 15, UK Scrabble: 15, Words With Friends: 15).
How many 3 letter words start with w?
73 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 w words will come up far more often.