Hooking with -UP words
Endings like -UP 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: 119 entries between 3 and 11 letters long, peaking at 6 letters with 43 words. Five-letter picks number 16 and seven-letter picks 34. Nothing here outscores WICKYUP — 21 points from 7 tiles on plain squares.
For quick reference, the top of the score table reads: WICKYUP (21), CHECKUP (20), KETCHUP (18), KICKUP (18), WICKIUP (18). COUNTERCOUP (11 letters) stretches furthest, while the list-wide average score sits near 12 points. If you are fishing for these words, keep P (119 appearances), U (119) and C (44) on your rack.
Three words worth learning first
- Playing LARRUP across a double-word square turns its base 8 points into 16 — solid value for 6 tiles.
- LINEUP earns 8 points from just 6 tiles — and it is a word few opponents will bother to challenge.
- When the rack looks hopeless, SANNUP (6 letters, 8 points) is the kind of quiet play that keeps a game moving.
Round out your set with TITTUP (8), TOSSUP (8), TUNEUP (8), TURNUP (8), LETUP (7) — all built from common tiles.
Back-hooking with -UP
When the board tightens up late in a Scrabble game, -UP words keep you scoring: they attach to existing letters instead of needing seven clean tiles. Crossword solvers use the same trick in reverse — if the grid gives you the last letters, this list is the candidate pool. Check the length filter in the Word Finder to match your open squares exactly.
More endings
Narrow it down
Pair an ending with a length or starting letter in the Word Finder.