About the SCRABBLE® Dictionary
This app is based on the fourth edition of the enormously popular Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary, which includes some 4,000 words not included in the previous edition. This dictionary has been prepared especially for lovers of SCRABBLE® crossword games and is endorsed by the National SCRABBLE® Association for recreational and school use.
It is important to remember that The Official SCRABBLE® Players Dictionary was created solely with this limited purpose in mind. It is not intended to serve as a general dictionary of English; thus, such important features of general dictionaries as definitions of multiple senses, pronunciation respellings, etymologies, and usage labels are omitted.
The SCRABBLE® game was designed to be enjoyed by children and adults alike, so words likely to offend players of the game have been omitted from this edition. The words omitted are those that would qualify for a warning usage note on the basis of standards applied in other Merriam-Webster dictionaries.
The organization and special features of the SCRABBLE® Dictionary are explained below.
MAIN ENTRIES
Main entries are listed in boldface type at the top of each definition screen. Except for an occasional cross-reference (such as UNDERLYING present participle of underlie), main entries contain from two to eight letters, since words within this range are considered to be most useful to SCRABBLE® crossword game players. Words that are not permissible in SCRABBLE® crossword games have not been included in this dictionary. Thus, proper names, words requiring hyphens or apostrophes, words considered foreign, and abbreviations have been omitted. Because dictionaries have different criteria for selecting entries, several standard dictionaries were consulted in preparing the list of main entries for this book. Obsolete, archaic, slang, and nonstandard words are included because they are permitted by the rules of the game. All variant forms of a main entry are shown at their own alphabetical places and defined in terms of the principal form. Words that exceed eight letters in length and are not inflected forms of words entered in this dictionary should be looked up in a standard dictionary. The National SCRABBLE® Association recommends Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, as a reference for additional words.
PARTS OF SPEECH
An italic label indicating a part of speech follows each main entry except cross-references, for which the label is given at the root word. The eight traditional parts of speech are indicated as follows:
noun verb adjective adverb pronoun preposition conjunction interjection
When a word can be used as more than one part of speech, each part of speech is entered separately if the inflected forms are not spelled alike. For example, both the adjective mean and the verb mean are entered because the inflected forms vary.
MEAN adjective MEANER, MEANEST inferior in grade, quality, or character
MEAN verb MEANT, MEANING, MEANS to intend
On the other hand, the verb garlic is entered while the noun garlic is not because the inflected form garlics at the verb is spelled the same as the plural form of the noun. In a dictionary for SCRABBLE® crossword game players, entry of the noun is therefore redundant. Homographs (words spelled alike) which may be used as the same part of speech are treated in the same way. For example, lie is entered as a verb twice because the inflected forms are spelled differently.
LIE verb LIED, LYING, LIES to speak falsely
LIE verb LAY, LAIN, LYING, LIES to be or get into a horizontal position
If both sets of inflected forms were spelled alike, only one lie would be entered in this dictionary. In this way the dictionary includes as many different spellings as possible yet avoids wasting space with repeated entry of words spelled in the same way. The SCRABBLE® crossword game player, after all, needs only one entry to justify a play. Note: Homograph entries are displayed together on the same definition screen.
OTHER FORMS
"Other forms," also known as "inflected forms," include the past tense, past participle, present participle, and present tense third person singular of verbs, the plural of nouns, and the comparative and superlative of adjectives and adverbs. They are shown in boldface capital letters immediately following the definition. Some irregular inflected forms are listed as main entries (see Cross-References below). All inflected forms are allowable for play in SCRABBLE® crossword games.
The principal parts of the majority of verbs are shown as -ED, -ING, -S (or -ES when applicable). This indicates that the past tense and past participle are formed simply by adding -ed to the entry word, that the present participle is formed simply by adding -ing to the entry word, and that the present third person singular is formed simply by adding -s (or -es) to the entry word.
MURMUR verb -ED, -ING, -S to to speak unclearly
When inflection of an entry word involves any spelling change in addition to the suffixal ending (such as the dropping of a final -e, the doubling of a final consonant, or the changing of a final -y to -i-) or when the inflection is irregular, the inflected forms given indicate such changes.
POSE verb POSED, POSING, POSES to assume a fixed position
ROT verb ROTTED, ROTTING, ROTS to decompose
SHY verb SHIED, SHYING, SHIES to move suddenly back or aside, as in fear
RIDE verb RODE, RIDDEN, RIDING, RIDES to sit on, control, or be conveyed by an animal or machine
For verbs of more than one syllable, either the last syllable or the last two syllables are shown to indicate spelling changes.
LABEL verb -BELED, -BELING, -BELS or -BELLED, -BELLING, -BELS to describe or designate
EDUCATE verb -CATED, -CATING, -CATES to teach
The plurals of nouns are preceded by the abbreviation "plural" Most plurals are shown as -S (or -ES when applicable) to indicate that the plural is formed simply by adding the given suffix to the entry word.
LION noun plural -S a large, carnivorous feline mammal
When pluralizing a noun involves any spelling change in addition to the suffixal ending (such as the changing of a final -y to -i- or a final -f to -v-) or when the plural is irregular, the plural form shown indicates such change.
PIXY noun plural PIXIES a playfully mischievous fairy or elf
DWARF noun plural DWARFS or DWARVES an extremely small person
OTITIS noun plural OTITISES or OTITIDES inflammation of the ear
In such cases involving polysyllabic nouns at least the last syllable is shown.
THERAPY noun plural -PIES the treatment of illness or disability
For the sake of clarity, two groups of nouns that are confusing to many, those ending in -o and those ending in -y, are always indicated in this dictionary by showing at least the last syllable, even though no spelling change is involved.
HIPPO noun plural -POS a hippopotamus
CAY noun plural CAYS a small low island
Variant plurals are shown wherever they add another word permissible in SCRABBLE® crossword games.
JUNCO noun plural -COS or -COES a small finch
Plurals which have the same form as the singular are shown only when they are the only plural for that entry. This is done to show that for the entry in question it is not permissible to add -S (or -ES) to the singular to create a plural.
MOOSE noun plural MOOSE a ruminant mammal
TAXUS noun plural TAXUS an evergreen tree or shrub
Otherwise, they are omitted and only the plural with the inflection is shown.
DEER noun plural -S a ruminant mammal
The italic label noun plural is given to two kinds of nouns. One is the plural noun that has no singular form.
TINSNIPS noun plural a tool for cutting sheet metal
The other is the plural noun of which the singular form contains more than eight letters and is not entered in this dictionary.
TENTORIA noun plural the internal skeletons of the heads of insects
Tentorium, the singular form, has nine letters and therefore is not entered.
The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs are shown, when applicable, immediately following the part-of-speech label. Any spelling changes are indicated in the forms shown.
CLEAR adjective CLEARER, CLEAREST clean and pure
FAR adverb FARTHER, FARTHEST or FURTHER, FURTHEST at or to a great distance
CAGEY adjective CAGIER, CAGIEST shrewd
Not all adjectives or adverbs can be inflected, and only those inflected forms shown are acceptable. None of the adjectives and adverbs listed as run-on entries in this dictionary have inflected forms.
RUN-ON ENTRIES
A main entry may be followed by one or more derivatives in boldface type with a different part-of-speech label. These are run-on entries. Run-on entries are not defined since their meanings are readily derivable from the meaning of the root word.
AKINESIA noun plural -S loss of muscle function AKINETIC adjective
PLEON noun plural -S the abdomen of a crustacean PLEONAL, PLEONIC adjective
CROSS-REFERENCES
A cross-reference is a main entry that is an inflected form of another word (such as the plural form of a noun, the past tense form of a verb, or the comparative form of an adjective). An inflected form is entered as a main entry if it undergoes a spelling change in addition to or instead of suffixation and if it falls alphabetically four or more places away from the root word.
For example, in the entries reproduced below, DICING is a main entry because it involves a spelling change (the final -e of dice is dropped) besides the addition of the -ING ending and because it falls four or more places from the entry DICE. On the other hand, dices is not a main entry because it involves no spelling change beyond the addition of the ending -S. The word diced, although involving a spelling change (the final -e of dice is dropped), is not a main entry because it does not fall four or more places from DICE. DICIER and DICIEST are main entries because they involve a spelling change (the -e- is dropped and the final -y is changed to -i-) besides the addition of the -ER, -EST endings and they fall more four or more places from the entry DICEY.
DICE verb DICED, DICING, DICES to cut into small cubes
DICENTRA noun plural -S a perennial herb
DICER noun plural -S a device that dices food
DICEY adjective DICIER, DICIEST dangerous
DICHASIA noun plural flower clusters
DICHOTIC adjective affecting the two ears differently
DICHROIC adjective having two colors
DICIER comparative of dicey
DICIEST superlative of dicey
DICING present participle of dice
This policy is intended to make the word desired as easy to find as possible without wasting space. Nevertheless, many inflected forms will appear only at the main entry. You should always look at several entries above and below the expected place if you do not find the desired word as a main entry.
Cross-reference entries for present tense third person singular forms of verbs use the abbreviation "sing."
DEFINITIONS
In most cases, only one very brief definition is given for each main entry since definitions do not play a significant role in the SCRABBLE® crossword game. This definition serves only to orient the player in a general way to a single meaning of the word. It is not intended to have all the precision and detail of a definition in a good general dictionary.
When a word consisting of eight letters or less appears in a definition but is not an entry in this dictionary, its meaning is given in parentheses within the definition. For example, at the entry for the adjective drifty, the noun "drifts" is used in the definition and is defined in parentheses because the noun drift is not a separate entry.
DRIFTY verb DRIFTIER, DRIFTIEST full of drifts (masses of wind-driven snow)
A main entry that is a variant form of another entry is defined in terms of the most common form, which is defined at its own entry.
SCHMALTZ noun plural -ES excessive sentimentality
SCHMALZ noun plural -ES schmaltz
SHMALTZ noun plural -ES schmaltz
SCRABBLE® crossword game players in Canada will be pleased to learn that variant forms such as honour, centre, and cheque, which are often omitted from general dictionaries, have also been included in this book.
UNDEFINED WORDS
Two lists of undefined words beginning with the prefixes re- and un- are entered in this dictionary. These words are not defined because they are self-explanatory: their meanings are simply the sum of a meaning of the prefix re- or un- and a meaning of the root word. All of their inflected forms are given, however.