One of the things that makes the official Scrabble word list unique is that it constantly evolves just as language does, keeping relevant to the zeitgeist (19 points!). Every few years, Scrabble game enthusiasts around the world get excited as the next update to our list of permissible words is published – and it’s time to get stuck into Collins Official SCRABBLE™ Words 2024!
The team at Collins works hard to ensure that the list is up to date and reflects modern usage as much as possible. With huge changes in tech, social interaction and communication style, it won’t come as a surprise to you to learn that this time around we’ve got some absolute beauties of words entering the fray of the competitive Scrabble game. Whether totally new (such as the delightful GLAMAZON – a glamorous, physically strong woman), reflecting new usage of an older word (ADULT is now a verb, to behave like an adult) or testifying to the occasionally odd development of the language (UWU anyone?), there are treasures in here guaranteed to help any keen player to take their game to the next level.
I’ve picked out a selection of the new words to whet your appetite …
Firstly, let’s start with what we call “hooks” – when you can add a single letter to another word already on the board to create another word:
AHADITH – same meaning as HADITH, the body of tradition about Muhammad
MPOX – a disease like smallpox (a terrible disease, but also a unique new hook)
BACNE – you guessed it, acne on the back
BOPO – body positivity
NGRAM – a unit of n words, letters or symbols in sequence in text
Next, we’ve got some really interesting modernisms. Love ’em or hate ’em, they get used every day:
BOUJEE – also BOUJIER, BOUJIEST, BOUGIE, BOUGIER, BOUGIEST – having bourgeois tastes and attitudes (although I have a feeling BOUJEE may be better known than bourgeois nowadays!)
FLOOF – informal name for a furry animal. If you’ve ever been on social media, you’ll have been assaulted by FLOOFS on all sides!
GANK/NERF – these two I’ve bunched together because, as a computer gamer, I was always surprised they weren’t included sooner. GANK means to steal, and NERF means to reduce the effectiveness of something.
OWO/UWU – again, two I’ve combined as they have a similar origin. OWO is an expression of surprise, used in text messaging, and UWU is an expression of admiration for something cute in social media. Look at the letters and imagine they were a face …
PENG – also PENGER and PENGEST – excellent
TOMOZ – tomorrow – great new high-value Z word!
Thirdly – and here’s a free tip! – competitive players often focus on learning 7-letter words that only contain single point tiles (or maybe with one higher value letter). These make up the majority of 7-letter words … essential for getting those 50-point “bingo” bonuses for using all your tiles. Here are a few new ones which I’m FANBOYING (that’s also new…!) over:
ALTCOIN – a type of digital currency
AMIRITE – “Am I right?”… and this new anagram of AIRTIME is likely to come in handy, amirite?? – AMIRIGHT is also good.
SEALION – this is actually a MASSIVE addition and probably one of the most common phonies – words that aren’t permissible – I’ve seen inexperienced players trip up on. ANISOLE finally has its anagram
STANNED – from STAN – to follow obsessively the career of a famous person, just like in that song you’ve probably heard!
THRENOI – new plural of THRENOS, an ode for the dead
And finally, here are a few I classify under the heading of “hold on … they weren’t already allowed?”. You’ve probably used these words or come across them A LOT. And yep, they’re now allowable!
ANYHOO – anyhow
AUTOFILL – to automatically insert (previously entered information) into blank fields in online forms
BLONDIE – a small square of vanilla-flavoured cake (I’ve seen this one played in error multiple times in tournaments in the past!)
COVID – it’s lost its capital, and something we’d all rather forget is now in the word list. Also its slang counterpart RONA
HEADBUTT – surprisingly new. You no longer have to rely on BUTTHEAD with these letters!
THINGIE – you know. It’s a thingie.
UNDERHIT – believe it or not, you could OVERHIT something for a very long time, but not UNDERHIT it. I guess eventually our arms had to get tired.
So, there you have it, a few of the words that caught my eye. Personally, I think these new words are going to make a huge difference to my game, so I’m off to start studying!
Written by Brett Smitheram
Brett Smitheram is currently the UK’s number 1 rated Scrabble player and ranked number 3 in the world. Twice UK national champion and 2016 world champion, he has been ranked in the top 10 globally for over 20 years.
All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.
