Words That End in OW
OW endings give English some of its most vivid words. ARROW, ELBOW, SHADOW, SPARROW, FURROW -- these aren't just dictionary entries, they're words that paint pictures. The OW ending works double duty in English, sometimes rhyming with "cow" (BOW, VOW, PLOW) and sometimes with "go" (FLOW, SHOW, GROW). This split pronunciation makes OW-ending words tricky for crossword solvers who need to figure out which sound the constructor intended.
For word game strategy, OW words cluster heavily in the 6-to-8 letter range, which is prime territory for Scrabble bingos and crossword fill. AIRFLOW, CASHFLOW, and OVERFLOW are compound words that can stretch across the board. Shorter plays like BOW, COW, HOW, MOW, NOW, ROW, SOW, TOW, and WOW give you flexible 3-letter options for tight spots. A smart move: look for spots where adding OW to an existing word creates a new one -- OVER becomes OVERGROW territory. Use the solver above for specific patterns, and browse words ending in O for related endings. If you need words that start strong, try words starting with B for BELOW, BESTOW, and BILLOW.
FAQ
What 3-letter words end in OW?
BOW, COW, DOW, HOW, LOW, MOW, NOW, OOW, OW, POW, ROW, SOW, TOW, VOW, WOW, and YOW are all valid. These are critical for parallel plays in Scrabble. See words starting with N for NOW-related extensions, and words ending in X for other high-frequency short endings.
Why do some OW words rhyme differently?
English inherited OW words from two separate Old English sounds: one that became the "oh" sound (as in FLOW from flowan) and one that stayed as "ow" (as in COW from cu). Spelling merged them, but pronunciation didn't. For more on tricky English endings, explore words ending in U where pronunciation surprises also lurk.