Playing words that start with HO
Leading with HO lets you hook onto open columns and reach premium squares. Scan the high-scoring entries above first — they offer the best return when you have the tiles.
What the numbers say
Inside this list: 1411 words spanning 2–15 letters. The biggest cluster sits at 8 letters (237 words), 93 entries are Wordle-sized at five letters, and 201 run to seven — bingo length if you can empty the rack. For points, the ceiling is HOMOZYGOSITY, worth 33.
For quick reference, the top of the score table reads: HOMOZYGOSITY (33), HOMOZYGOUSLY (33), HOMOZYGOSITIES (32), HOKEYPOKEYS (30), HOMEOPATHICALLY (30). At 15 letters, HOLOGRAPHICALLY is the longest word on the list; a typical entry scores around 16. The most useful tiles to hold for this list are O, H and E, which appear in 1411, 1411 and 898 of the words respectively.
Start with these three
- When the rack looks hopeless, HOARSE (6 letters, 9 points) is the kind of quiet play that keeps a game moving.
- HOISES — 6 letters for 9 points; every tile in it is a common draw, so it shows up rack after rack.
- Playing HOISTS across a double-word square turns its base 9 points into 18 — solid value for 6 tiles.
Five more everyday options from the same list: HOLIER (9), HOLIES (9), HOLIST (9), HOLLAS (9), HOLLER (9).
HO as a vocabulary shortcut
If you are studying English, HO is a high-leverage chunk: instead of memorising each word cold, anchor the HO pattern and let the surrounding letters vary. Word-game players get a parallel benefit — when a crossword grid or a Wordle guess reveals the HO sequence, this page is the complete candidate pool, already sorted by Scrabble value.
More starting letters
Narrow it down
Combine a starting letter with a length or pattern in the Word Finder for exact matches.