Words Ending in VAN: A Compact but Colorful Set
VAN, DIVAN, CARAVAN, MINIVAN, PAVAN, SILVAN, SYLVAN — the -VAN ending gives you a small but interesting group. Half of these words have nothing to do with vehicles. DIVAN is a long, low sofa (originally a Turkish council chamber — the furniture meaning came later because councils sat on cushioned benches). PAVAN is a slow, stately Renaissance dance. SILVAN and SYLVAN both mean "of the forest," with the Y-spelling being more common in poetry.
For word game players, VAN itself is a clean 6-point Scrabble play. DIVAN scores 10 points and fits neatly into tight board positions. CARAVAN at 12 points uses seven tiles, which gets you the 50-point bonus if you play all your tiles at once. SYLVAN is worth knowing for crosswords — it appears regularly with clues like "woodsy" or "forest-dwelling." The trick with -VAN words is that most solvers think of the vehicle first and forget the other meanings, so crossword clues for DIVAN or PAVAN can be genuinely tricky. If you're after more words with V, check words starting with VAT. And for other short ending patterns, words starting with A gives you ARAVAN-adjacent vocabulary, while words starting with K opens up more unusual letter combos.
FAQ
Is MINIVAN valid in Scrabble?
Yes, MINIVAN is valid in both TWL and SOWPODS dictionaries. At 12 points for 7 letters, it's not a high-scorer per tile, but it can earn a bingo bonus (50 extra points) if you play all seven tiles from your rack at once. For other compound words, explore words starting with O.
What's the difference between SILVAN and SYLVAN?
They mean the same thing — "relating to woods or forests." SILVAN is closer to the Latin root SILVA (forest), while SYLVAN uses the medieval Latin spelling SYLVA. Both are valid in Scrabble and score 12 and 15 points respectively. Crossword clues might use either spelling, so know both. See words starting with F for FOREST and related nature vocabulary.