Words Starting With R

R: Ten Thousand Words and the Art of the RE- Hook

R starts the third largest word group in the dictionary, trailing only S and C. That volume isn't just padding — R-starters include some of the most commonly used words in the language: RUN, READ, REAL, ROAD, ROOM, RAIN. The reason for R's enormous count comes down to one prefix: RE-. Meaning "again" or "back," RE- attaches to thousands of verbs to create valid dictionary entries. REDO, REWRITE, REBUILD, RETHINK, REPLAY, REOPEN — the list goes on and on. For crossword solvers, RE- is one of the first things to test when you've got an R in position one. For Scrabble players, RE- is the ultimate front-hook: someone plays WIND on the board, you play REWIND. They play PLACE, you play REPLACE. This strategy alone can win games.

Here's an underappreciated R fact: the letter R is pronounced completely differently depending on where you live. In rhotic dialects (American, Scottish, Irish English), the R in CARD and BUTTER is fully articulated. In non-rhotic dialects (most British, Australian, New Zealand English), those same R's are dropped or softened. This doesn't affect spelling, but it means crossword clues that reference pronunciation (like "sounds like" or homophone clues) can be tricky with R words. Second fact: R has the largest concentration of words in the 8-to-9 letter range of any letter, with nearly 3,500 entries between those two lengths. That density makes R one of the best letters for Scrabble bingos.

Tip: don't overlook three-letter R plays when the board is tight. RAG, RAM, RAN, RAP, RAT, RAW, RAY, RIG, RIM, ROB, ROD, ROT, ROW, RUG, RUM, RUN, and RUT are all simple, high-frequency words that keep your rack flowing. For the two other mega-sized letter groups, see words starting with S and words starting with C. Pair R knowledge with words starting with E for ER- words that overlap, and check words starting with W for another consonant with strong short-word options.

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