GO is the most famous two letter word in English, and in this dictionary it is also the only two letter word G gets. Everything else among the 5,589 words that start with G takes at least three tiles, so the letter rewards players who plan a move ahead. Feed your rack into the filter above and it will show you, instantly, which of those plans your letters can actually pay for.
The growl cluster
Roughly one in four G words opens with GR, the letter's signature sound, and another fifth begin with GA. That regularity is useful in guessing games: given a leading G and no other clues, GR is the percentage continuation. It also happens to be where the points are. GRIZZLY earns 29 on seven tiles, GIZZARD 27, and shorter Z plays like GAUZY, GHAZI, and GLAZY hit 18 from five.
Borrowed and strange
G hosts some of the best imported words in the game. GEDANKENEXPERIMENT arrived from German and means a thought experiment; its plural is among the longest and highest scoring entries in the family. GJETOST, a brown Norwegian cheese, starts with a GJ pair almost nothing else in English uses. GNU sneaks a silent G past your opponent, and GYM and GYP prove the letter can lean on Y when the vowels run dry.
Sizing up your options
The G family peaks at eight letters with 997 entries, backed by 959 seven letter words for bingo attempts. Five letter puzzle players choose from 415 candidates, and GRAPE, GREEN, and GHOST are comfortable early guesses that test common letters. The long tail ends at GLOMERULONEPHRITIDES, a twenty letter medical term for kidney inflammation.
Numbers you can check
G is a two point tile in Scrabble and three in Words With Friends, modest on its own but steady in combination. More importantly, every count in this text is derived from our fixed public domain dictionary during the build, so this page and the searchable list above can never tell you two different stories.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many words start with G?
There are 5,589 words that start with G in this dictionary of 172,823 entries, one of the smaller families in the first half of the alphabet. Every figure on this page is recomputed from the word list each time the site is built.
Is GI a valid Scrabble word?
Not in this dictionary. GO is the only two letter G word in ENABLE, the open list this site is built on, even though some other dictionaries accept GI. If a word you expected is missing, our dictionary page explains which list we use, its license, and how to check its contents.
What is the highest scoring G word for everyday racks?
GRIZZLY is the star, 29 points on seven tiles with its double Z. GIZZARD follows at 27, and on five tiles GAUZY, GHAZI, and GLAZY each pay 18. Sort the list by points to see the full ranking at any length.
What is the strangest word on this list?
A strong case goes to GJETOST, a Norwegian cheese and one of very few English words that open with GJ. GEDANKENEXPERIMENT, a thought experiment borrowed from German, and GNU, the antelope with the silent G, round out a very odd podium.