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9 Letter Words Starting With ZA

There are 31 valid 9 letter words that start with ZA, drawn from NWL2023, CSW24, and Words With Friends. Sorted below by score, with the single highest scorer called out.

Highest Scoring 9-Letter Words

US Scrabble (NWL)

zambezian - 31 points

UK Scrabble (CSW)

zambezian - 31 points

Words With Friends

zambezian - 34 points

9 Letter Words (31)

View all words starting with ZA

Top 20 Highest-Scoring 9 Letter Words Starting With za

Point values shown for US Scrabble, UK Scrabble, and Words With Friends. The average across this full 31 word list is 74.2 combined points.

Rank Word US Scrabble UK Scrabble WWF Points Total
#1 zabaiones 20 20 22 62
#2 zabajones 27 27 31 85
#3 zachariah 26 26 25 77
#4 zaddickim 28 28 30 86
#5 zaglossus 19 19 22 60
#6 zaibatsus 20 20 22 62
🏆 #7 zambezian 31 31 34 96
#8 zambombas 26 26 30 82
#9 zamboorak 26 26 28 80
#10 zamiaceae 22 22 24 68
#11 zamindari 21 21 23 65
#12 zamindars 21 21 23 65
#13 zamindary 24 24 25 73
#14 zampognas 23 23 27 73
#15 zanamivir 23 23 26 72
#16 zanclidae 21 21 24 66
#17 zanclodon 21 21 25 67
#18 zantewood 22 22 23 67
#19 zanthoxyl 31 31 31 93
#20 zanzalian 27 27 30 84

Where 9 Letter Words Fit on the Board

At 9 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 ZA will give you far more flexible options try 9 letter words starting with ZA for a more practical middle ground.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the highest-scoring 9 letter word starting with za?

zambezian — worth 96 combined points (US Scrabble: 31, UK Scrabble: 31, Words With Friends: 34).

How many 9 letter words start with za?

31 valid words, combining entries from NWL2023, CSW24, and the Words With Friends dictionary.

Are 9 letter words realistic to actually play?

Only occasionally — you'd need most of your rack plus letters already on the board to reach 9 tiles. They're worth knowing for the rare bingo-extension play, but for regular turns, shorter za words will come up far more often.