Words Ending in ER

Why -ER Words Dominate Every Word Game

The suffix -ER is a workhorse of English. Tack it onto almost any verb and you get the person or thing doing the action: a runner runs, a baker bakes, a player plays. This simple rule makes -ER one of the most productive endings in the language, and word game players exploit it constantly. In Scrabble, adding -ER to an existing word on the board is a bread-and-butter move — it extends your play, scores the base word again, and often hits premium squares. Words like ABUSER, ABJURER, and ABRADER show how varied the roots can be.

English borrowed the -ER agent suffix from Old English "-ere," but it also absorbed the French comparative -ER (as in bigger, faster). That double origin is why the ending appears in so many different contexts. For crossword puzzles, -ER clues often follow the "one who ___" pattern — spot that phrasing and you're halfway home. Wordle players hunting for a strong second guess should note that ER appears in the final position of dozens of five-letter words.

Quick tip: when you're stuck in Scrabble with a rack full of common letters, look for -ER extensions first. It's the highest-percentage play available. Pair this strategy with knowledge of words ending in ED and words ending in T, and you'll rarely be stuck. Players working with difficult starting tiles might also check words starting with Z or words starting with J.

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