Words Ending in NO
NO at the end of a word signals borrowed territory. CASINO, VOLCANO, PIANO, SOPRANO, CAPPUCCINO -- Italian gives English most of its NO-ending words. Spanish contributes ALBINO, LATINO, and JALAPENO. Even Japanese gives us KIMONO. These loanwords keep their original endings, and that makes them distinctive in both crosswords and word games. CASINO is probably the most-played NO word in Scrabble, scoring 8 points and using common tiles.
In crossword puzzles, NO endings are gold for constructors because they create smooth grid fill. AMINO (as in amino acid) and RHINO are short enough for tight corners. VOLCANO and CASINO fill longer slots with everyday vocabulary. A useful solving trick: if you see _____NO in a crossword and the clue has anything Italian or musical, think opera terms -- SOPRANO, MEZZO-SOPRANO, FORTEPIANO all end in NO. For players who want more vowel-heavy endings, words ending in I offers similar Italian and foreign borrowings. Check words starting with B for BAMBINO and BEANO, or explore words starting with PH for PHONO and its relatives.
FAQ
What are the best short words ending in NO?
NO itself (2 letters, 2 points) is the shortest. MONO (4 letters), NANO (4 letters), and DINO (4 letters) are solid short options. AMINO and RHINO at 5 letters score well and use common tiles. For other strong short words, see words ending in JO and words ending in B.
Why do so many NO words come from Italian?
Italian uses -NO as a common masculine singular ending (casino, volcano, soprano all end in -O in Italian, with -NO being part of the root). English borrowed these words wholesale, keeping the original spelling. Music terminology especially kept Italian forms because Italian was the international language of music for centuries. See words ending in I for more Italian plurals that English adopted.