Only 21 Words End in V — Here's Why That Matters
V might be the most underestimated rare ending in English word games. With just 21 valid words, this is one of the smallest ending groups in the dictionary — larger than words ending in Q (three words) and words ending in J (seven words), but still small enough to memorize in a single sitting. The reason so few English words end in V is a spelling rule dating back to Middle English: a bare V was considered visually confusing at word boundaries, so scribes added a silent E after it. That's why we write HAVE instead of HAV, GIVE instead of GIV, LOVE instead of LOV. The 21 words that break this rule are all modern borrowings or clippings that entered English after the old convention lost its force.
The most useful V-enders for game play are DEV (short for developer, 7 points), GUV (British slang for governor, 7 points), LAV (short for lavatory, 6 points), LUV (informal love, 6 points), and REV (7 points). IMPROV is a strong six-letter option at 13 points. MAGLEV (magnetic levitation) scores 12. The real gem is LEITMOTIV — a musical term from German meaning a recurring theme — which at 8 letters can land on premium squares for massive points. One tip: because V-ending words are so rare, opponents almost never see them coming. Playing GUV or DEV in a tight corner can feel like pulling a card nobody knew existed. For more short plays with uncommon letters, see words ending in X and words starting with V.
FAQ
Is REV a valid Scrabble word?
Yes. REV is accepted in both TWL (North American tournament dictionary) and SOWPODS (international dictionary), as well as Words With Friends. It scores 6 base points and can be extended to REVS for an extra letter. For more three-letter plays using tricky consonants, see words ending in J where HAJ and TAJ serve a similar role.
Why does English avoid ending words with V?
Medieval scribes considered a bare V at the end of a word hard to read, since V and U were written identically in many scripts. They solved this by always adding a silent E after a final V sound — GIVE, HAVE, LOVE, PROVE. Modern English preserved this habit, which is why the 21 V-enders are all recent loanwords or informal clippings that bypassed the old rule. The same foreign-origin pattern shows up in words ending in U.
What's the highest-scoring V-ending word?
LEITMOTIV at 8 letters scores 13 base points and has strong premium-square potential. Among shorter words, MAGLEV (12 points) and IMPROV (13 points) are the top scorers. DEV, GUV, and REV are all 7 points for just three tiles — efficient plays on a crowded board. You can also explore words starting with V for more ways to deploy the V tile effectively.