How many words end in AY?

This page lists 296 words ending in AY, each with its Scrabble score.

Why are -AY words useful?

Words ending in AY are great for hooking onto existing tiles and pluralising or extending words already on the board.

Words Ending With AY

All 296 words in our dictionary that end in AY, sorted by Scrabble score. Perfect for hooks and crossword clues.

296 words · number = Scrabble score · sorted highest score first

superhighway27 breezeway26 expressway25 companionway24 jackstay24 thoughtway23 throughway23 breaksaway22 hatchway22 popinjay22 straightaway22 breakaway21 straightway21 throwaway21 walkaway21 widthway21 carriageway20 chambray20 everyway20 folkway20 highway20 postholiday20 rockaway20 taxiway20 trackway20 walkway20 backstay19 bikeway19 bluejay19 chardonnay19 crawlway19 entranceway19 fishway19 flyaway19 halfway19 keyway19 parkway19 passageway19 photoplay19 preholiday19 skyway19 veejay19 workaday19 archway18 cableway18 counterplay18 driveway18 everyday18 fadeaway18 floodway18 flyway18 foldaway18 giveaway18 hideaway18 immunoassay18 lackaday18 pathway18 shipway18 sickbay18 skidway18 steerageway18 swordplay18 takeaway18 weekday18 whipray18 workday18 alleyway17 birthday17 deejay17 downplay17 entryway17 fallaway17 headway17 hereaway17 hogmanay17 hogmenay17 holyday17 horseplay17 screenplay17 sluiceway17 speedway17 stowaway17 thataway17 washday17 wasteway17 waterway17 wellaway17 windway17 wordplay17 byplay16 byway16 castaway16 causeway16 crossway16 fairway16 faraway16 fireclay16 footway16 foreplay16 freeway16 guideway16 hallway16 heyday16 homestay16 layaway16 lifeway16 motorway16 overplay16 playday16 quay16 spillway16 standaway16 thruway16 towaway16 vouvray16 wireway16 yesterday16 affray15 anyway15 beltway15 caraway15 cogway15 cutaway15 domesday15 doomsday15 forebay15 gangway15 goombay15 greenway15 headstay15 mayday15 midway15 overpay15 partway15 payday15 raceway15 redisplay15 ropeway15 slideway15 slipway15 someway15 tramway15 underplay15 underway15 waylay15 welladay15 aisleway14 bewray14 bobstay14 doorway14 faraday14 forestay14 gateway14 getaway14 holiday14 interplay14 misplay14 overstay14 roadway14 rollaway14 routeway14 sideway14 soothsay14 stairway14 sternway14 subway14 tearaway14 tideway14 trainway14 underpay14 areaway13 ashtray13 bioassay13 defray13 display13 gunplay13 hearsay13 jay13 laneway13 logway13 mainstay13 midday13 misassay13 overlay13 prepay13 railway13 rollway13 roundelay13 runaway13 someday13 superlay13 teleplay13 tollway13 virelay13 airplay12 airway12 benday12 chay12 disarray12 dismay12 embay12 hooray12 hurray12 intraday12 leeway12 margay12 nonplay12 oilway12 orfray12 outplay12 outpray12 portray12 redbay12 respray12 rosebay12 runway12 sashay12 seaway12 stingray12 tokay12 underlay12 alway11 antigay11 betray11 cullay11 daresay11 decay11 foray11 gainsay11 gamay11 interlay11 mislay11 missay11 noonday11 nosegay11 noway11 okay11 parlay11 replay11 away10 belay10 flay10 fray10 guanay10 kay10 moray10 nongay10 ofay10 outstay10 repay10 shay10 splay10 spray10 sway10 tatouay10 astray9 bray9 clay9 delay9 deray9 estray9 fay9 hay9 outlay9 play9 pray9 spay9 today9 way9 yay9 allay8 array8 assay8 bay8 cay8 dray8 essay8 gray8 inlay8 may8 pay8 relay8 resay8 satay8 stray8 unlay8 unsay8 day7 gay7 slay7 stay7 tray7 lay6 nay6 ray6 say6

Hooking with -AY words

Endings like -AY let you tack a word onto a tile already on the board, often turning a small play into a big one. Look for the high-value entries above to maximise points.

A quick statistical tour

The shape of this list: 296 entries between 3 and 12 letters long, peaking at 7 letters with 84 words. Five-letter picks number 27 and seven-letter picks 84. Nothing here outscores SUPERHIGHWAY — 27 points from 12 tiles on plain squares.

Chasing points? The best five entries here are SUPERHIGHWAY (27), BREEZEWAY (26), EXPRESSWAY (25), COMPANIONWAY (24), JACKSTAY (24). The longest entry is COMPANIONWAY at 12 letters, and the average word here is worth about 14 points. Letter-wise, A is the workhorse — it appears in 296 of these words, ahead of Y (296) and W (135).

Three easy picks from this list

Playing ASTRAY across a double-word square turns its base 9 points into 18 — solid value for 6 tiles.
ESTRAY earns 9 points from just 6 tiles — and it is a word few opponents will bother to challenge.
OUTLAY — 6 letters for 9 points; every tile in it is a common draw, so it shows up rack after rack.

Five more everyday options from the same list: ALLAY (8), ARRAY (8), ASSAY (8), ESSAY (8), INLAY (8).

Why -AY endings win turns

Endings are Scrabble's cheapest points. A word finishing in -AY can often be built backwards from a tile already on the board, so you pay for fewer letters than you score. Scan the high scorers above, then look for a spot where the final -AY lands on a premium square — the multiplier applies to your whole word, not just the hook.

More endings

Narrow it down

Pair an ending with a length or starting letter in the Word Finder.