Crossword Helper

Find puzzle answers using letter patterns and clue hints 280K words

Use ? for unknown letters. Example: ?A?I? finds CABIN, MAGIC, RAPID, etc.

Enter keywords from the crossword clue to rank results by relevance

▶ Dictionary & Sort Options...

About Crossword Helper

Whether you are working through the daily newspaper crossword or tackling a tricky themed puzzle, our crossword helper takes the guesswork out of stubborn clues. Enter the letters you already know, mark the blanks with question marks, and optionally add a clue hint. Our server-side dictionary of over 280,000 words finds every match, and our local clue database highlights which answers have appeared in published crosswords before.

How it works: Pattern matching runs on our high-performance API (the same engine behind A2Z Words), while crossword clue lookups use a locally cached database of thousands of harvested clues. This hybrid approach gives you both speed and crossword-specific intelligence.

How It Works

1

Enter the Pattern

Type known letters and use ? for blanks. Example: ?A?I? finds 5-letter words with A and I in those spots.

2

Add a Clue Hint

Optional: enter keywords from the crossword clue. Answers with matching clues are highlighted and ranked first.

3

Browse & Click

Click any word to reveal its crossword clues and dictionary definitions. Words with known clues show a green badge.

Pattern Matching Examples

  • ?A?I? — 5-letter words with A in position 2 and I in position 4 (CABIN, MAGIC, RAPID)
  • S???? — 5-letter words starting with S (add a clue hint to narrow down hundreds of results)
  • ??NG — 4-letter words ending in NG (BANG, KING, LONG, RING, SING, WING)
  • QU??? — 5-letter words starting with QU (QUEEN, QUERY, QUEST, QUIET, QUIRK)
  • ?OO? — 4-letter words with OO in the middle (BOOK, COOL, FOOD, MOON, ROOF)

Crossword Solving Strategies

  • Fill-in-the-blank clues first: These are typically the easiest and give you crossing letters for tougher clues nearby
  • Watch for plural and tense markers: If the clue is plural, the answer likely ends in S. Past tense? Try -ED. Gerund? Try -ING
  • Use crossing letters aggressively: Every solved word gives you free letters in intersecting words — use them
  • Count squares carefully: A 4-letter word with double-O is probably BOOK, FOOD, MOON, POOL, or ROOF
  • Leverage the clue hint: Even a single keyword from the clue (like "king" or "animal") can push the right answer to the top of results

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I enter a crossword pattern?

Type the letters you know in their correct positions. Use ? (question mark) for letters you do not know. For example, if you have a 5-letter word and know the 2nd letter is A and the 4th is I, type ?A?I? and tap Find Answers.

How do clue hints improve results?

When you enter a clue hint, we check every matching word against our database of published crossword clues. Words whose clues contain your hint keyword are highlighted with an orange border and sorted to the top, making it much faster to spot the right answer.

How big is the dictionary?

The pattern search queries a 280,000-word dictionary via our FastCGI API, which is the same engine that powers A2Z Words. This is significantly larger than the local word lists used by many crossword helpers, so you will find even obscure crossword vocabulary here.

What if I get too many results?

Add more known letters to your pattern, enter a clue hint keyword, or switch to a more specific dictionary. The more information you provide, the shorter and more relevant your results will be.