How many words with OUGH are there?

This page lists 232 words with OUGH from our dictionary, each shown with its Scrabble score.

Are these words valid in official Scrabble play?

Not necessarily. This site uses the open ENABLE word list; check the official dictionary used by your game or tournament.

Words With OUGH

All 232 words in our dictionary that contain OUGH — sorted by Scrabble score.

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

forethoughtful27 breakthroughs26 breakthrough25 merrythoughts25 thoroughbraces25 thoughtfully25 wherethrough25 merrythought24 thoroughbrace24 thoughtfulness24 thoughtways24 throughways24 afterthoughts23 hiccoughing23 thoroughbasses23 thoroughbreds23 thoroughfares23 thoroughworts23 thoughtlessly23 thoughtway23 throughway23 aforethought22 afterthought22 forethoughts22 handwrought22 hiccoughed22 roughhewing22 thoroughbred22 thoroughfare22 thoroughgoing22 thoroughwort22 thoughtlessness22 throughither22 throughother22 doughnutlike21 forethought21 overthought21 overwrought21 roughhewed21 thoroughbass21 thoroughnesses21 thoroughpins21 doughfaces20 hiccoughs20 roughdrying20 roughhousing20 roughnecks20 thoroughly20 thoroughpin20 thoughtful20 throughputs20 doughboys19 doughface19 droughtinesses19 furloughing19 hiccough19 interboroughs19 interwrought19 misthought19 overbought19 roughcasting19 roughhewn19 roughhews19 roughhoused19 roughneck19 thoroughness19 throughly19 throughput19 bethought18 dogfought18 doughboy18 doughlike18 doughtinesses18 dreadnoughts18 furloughed18 interborough18 methought18 roughhew18 roughhouses18 thoroughest18 thoughtless18 underbought18 boughpots17 broughams17 doughtily17 dreadnought17 droughtiness17 gunfought17 outthought17 outwrought17 roughhouse17 roughshod17 thorougher17 throughout17 boughpot16 brougham16 choughs16 doughtiness16 droughtiest16 droughty16 furloughs16 outfought16 ploughing16 rethought16 rewrought16 roughcasts16 roughdried16 roughdry16 roughriders16 unthought16 although15 chough15 coughing15 doughtiest15 doughty15 droughtier15 foughten15 furlough15 infought15 outbought15 ploughed15 ploughers15 refought15 roughcast15 roughdries15 roughening15 roughish15 roughnesses15 roughrider15 sourdoughs15 thorough15 thoughts15 toughening15 toughish15 toughnesses15 unfought15 besought14 boroughs14 boughed14 boughten14 coughed14 coughers14 doughiest14 doughnuts14 doughtier14 doughy14 plougher14 rebought14 roughages14 roughened14 roughlegs14 roughly14 sloughiest14 sloughing14 sloughy14 sourdough14 thought14 through14 toughened14 toughly14 unbought14 wrought14 abought13 borough13 brought13 cloughs13 cougher13 doughier13 doughnut13 droughts13 fought13 oughting13 ploughs13 roughage13 roughing13 roughleg13 roughness13 sloughed13 sloughier13 soughing13 though13 toughing13 toughness13 toughy13 boughs12 bought12 clough12 coughs12 drought12 oughted12 plough12 resought12 roughed12 roughens12 roughers12 roughest12 soughed12 toughed12 toughens12 toughest12 toughies12 unsought12 bough11 cough11 doughs11 dought11 enoughs11 noughts11 roughen11 rougher11 sloughs11 toughen11 tougher11 toughie11 troughs11 unrough11 dough10 enough10 loughs10 nought10 oughts10 roughs10 slough10 soughs10 sought10 toughs10 trough10 lough9 ought9 rough9 sough9 tough9

Why OUGH words matter

Words containing OUGH are handy for Scrabble, Words with Friends and word puzzles — filter the list above by length to find the play you need.

What the numbers say

Inside this list: 232 words spanning 5–15 letters. The biggest cluster sits at 8 letters (44 words), 8 entries are Wordle-sized at five letters, and 31 run to seven — bingo length if you can empty the rack. For points, the ceiling is FORETHOUGHTFUL, worth 27.

Chasing points? The best five entries here are FORETHOUGHTFUL (27), BREAKTHROUGHS (26), BREAKTHROUGH (25), MERRYTHOUGHTS (25), THOROUGHBRACES (25). THOUGHTLESSNESS (15 letters) stretches furthest, while the list-wide average score sits near 16 points. Letter-wise, O is the workhorse — it appears in 232 of these words, ahead of H (232) and G (232).

Three words worth learning first

When the rack looks hopeless, ENOUGH (6 letters, 10 points) is the kind of quiet play that keeps a game moving.
LOUGHS is easy to keep in memory: 6 letters, 10 points, and no awkward tiles to hunt for.
NOUGHT — a 6-letter, 10-point play that slots into tight board lanes where longer words won't fit.

Round out your set with OUGHTS (10), ROUGHS (10), SLOUGH (10), SOUGHS (10), SOUGHT (10) — all built from common tiles.

OUGH as a vocabulary shortcut

If you are studying English, OUGH is a high-leverage chunk: instead of memorising each word cold, anchor the OUGH pattern and let the surrounding letters vary. Word-game players get a parallel benefit — when a crossword grid or a Wordle guess reveals the OUGH sequence, this page is the complete candidate pool, already sorted by Scrabble value.

More high-value letters

Find more specific words

Need to narrow by starting letter, ending letter or a Wordle pattern? Use the Word Finder.