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The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary
New edition! An inexpensive edition of the book that SCRABBLE® players call their bible. Ideal for recreational and school play. More than 100,000 playable two- to eight-letter words including 4,000 new entries. Includes variant spellings. Endorsed by the National SCRABBLE® Association.
674 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 14, 2018
A very useful book for Scrabble players. Recommended.
August 18, 2011
Well, I haven't read the *whole* thing...
January 25, 2008
what I like about this book? The censorship! its totally hilarious that they get away with expurgating 167 words from this book. After all, what if you are playing with your mother and one of THESE doozies pops up on your rack?
BADASS BADASSES
BADASSED
BALLSY BALLSIER BALLSIEST
BAZOOMS
COLOREDS
COMSYMP COMSYMPS
CRAPPER CRAPPERS
FART FARTED FARTING FARTS
FATSO FATSOES FATSOS
FRIG FRIGGED FRIGGING FRIGS
PAPIST PAPISTS
PAPISTIC
PAPISTRY PAPISTRIES
PEED PEEING
PISS PISSED PISSES PISSING
PISSER PISSERS
POM POMS
POMMIE POMMIES
POMMY
POOFS
POOFTAH POOFTAHS
POOFTER POOFTERS
POOFY
POOVE POOVES
POPERY POPERIES
POPISH
POPISHLY
REDNECK REDNECKS
SQUAW SQUAWS
BADASS BADASSES
BADASSED
BALLSY BALLSIER BALLSIEST
BAZOOMS
COLOREDS
COMSYMP COMSYMPS
CRAPPER CRAPPERS
FART FARTED FARTING FARTS
FATSO FATSOES FATSOS
FRIG FRIGGED FRIGGING FRIGS
PAPIST PAPISTS
PAPISTIC
PAPISTRY PAPISTRIES
PEED PEEING
PISS PISSED PISSES PISSING
PISSER PISSERS
POM POMS
POMMIE POMMIES
POMMY
POOFS
POOFTAH POOFTAHS
POOFTER POOFTERS
POOFY
POOVE POOVES
POPERY POPERIES
POPISH
POPISHLY
REDNECK REDNECKS
SQUAW SQUAWS
June 12, 2017
What do you do when you always win at Scrabble as you read so much, and everyone refuses to play with you as they are sick of getting skunked?? You tie one arm behind your back, handicap, and find and let them use a Scrabble dictionary! Peace ensues! And I get to play my beloved Scrabble again!!!
July 7, 2015
Certainly helpful for when you're stuck in the game of Scrabble.
January 4, 2015
There’s really not much anyone can say about a Scrabble Dictionary. Not even someone as famously verbose as I am. Some friends of mine had a copy with a damaged cover, so that only the letters “O-N-A-R-Y” were legible, so they always referred to it as an “onary” (rhymes with “ovary”). That’s about the only story I can think of. Oh, and if you look for words here before you play your hand, that’s cheating. The onary should only be used to resolve challenges, and when a word is challenged someone loses a turn (the person who played the word if the challenger wins the challenge and the challenger if the player wins). Yes, that means that all of your “Words with Friends” skills will be useless when you play real Scrabble. You’re welcome.
April 11, 2018
A must-have for anyone wanting to play Scrabble by the rules (the only way to play!) Take time to memorize some of the high-point letter words and you will do wonders for your average score. It's also a great way to keep phones off the table during game play. After Chess I consider Scrabble to be the best board game ever, and this book is as every bit as essential to play as the board and tiles themselves. Best dictionary I've ever bought!
November 30, 2014
Perhaps the only reference book that has gotten regular use in my home since I learned to spell. Anyone without a real love of the game will complain about its inclusion or exclusion of words, but those of us with the Scrabble Sickness have nothing but awe for those who consider all the finer points of the game when determining the final lineup.
March 10, 2008
Mike loves to read this over and over and I've found it's great for little boys who are acting naughty and need to copy words out of the dictionary to help them settle down and focus.
May 29, 2008
Who doesn't love dictionaries? Who doesn't love Scrabble? Who doesn't love this dictionary?
January 20, 2009
A must for any regular Scrabble player!
March 12, 2016
This should be titled "The ScrabBible."
February 9, 2017
The classic rule-setter in the household since I can remember. If it ain't in here, you can't play it.
November 28, 2023
This book is a pretty old Scrabble book, and it includes a variety of words between the lengths of two and eight letters, with many of those words being quite odd but interesting. A couple of interesting words I found in the book were Aargh, Aarrgh, and Arrghh (each of which are interjections used to express disgust), and Seicento (the seventeenth century). It is very easy to locate words. Overall, I would rate this book a 3 out of 10 because while it is quite thorough and informative, it isn't formatted in such a way that it is "fun" to read. It's fine that it isn't lots of fun to read though, because it isn't necessarily meant to be fun to read. It's more of a rulebook than a book to casually read. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy dictionaries and Scrabble.
September 13, 2025
just have to say the sixth edition of this book allowed me to prove to my bonehead friends that "cheque" is an acceptable scrabble word. i played "cheque" on a triple word score and got sixty points. how ya like them apples?
February 23, 2025
A must purchase if you play Scrabble. This book is well worth buying a brand new copy. A hardcover holds up much better than a paperback edition. It's big and sturdy.
The most important thing that I learned from this book is that there are twelve words that start with the letter Q that do NOT need a letter U to form. I'm not telling you what they are, either! You will have to buy the book and see for yourself. :)
The most important thing that I learned from this book is that there are twelve words that start with the letter Q that do NOT need a letter U to form. I'm not telling you what they are, either! You will have to buy the book and see for yourself. :)
September 9, 2012
The main word source for the "mass market and scholastic" players. Sadly, it doesn't include any of the "off color" words which are legal within the game - often leading to arguments when being used as a "judge" in play. Convenient size for those who want to bring along a book to study out of. However, there are better resources for those who want to memorize word lists.
May 9, 2008
OK...I don't know why I'm adding this here. I must be getting punch drunk...time to go to bed. Anyway, thanks Karla for getting Lynette & I a copy of this to help settle the endless Scrabble disputes while playing. :-)
August 7, 2012
Hey, since in Scrabble a closed list of words is needed to keep it fair to the points-vying players, this dedicated one works really well. I like the brief definitions. We keep a printout of words added in the more recent Fourth Edition inside the front cover.
August 18, 2019
Don't play without it
The OSPD is no ordinary dictionary. There are capsule definitions given but no usage tips. All the entries are in caps. Since there are no proper names allowed, this doesn't matter. The most important information about the entries (from the point of view of the Scrabble player) is how they are spelled, how they are made plural, how the gerund and past tenses are formed, and whether you can make comparatives or superlatives out of the word and how.
For example the plural of "bijou" (a jewel) is either "bijoux" or "bijous," and the OSPD gives that info. The gerund of "snib" (to latch) is "snibbing" while the comparative of "sleazy" is "sleazier" and the superlative, "sleaziest." There is also the adverb, "sleazily." (A future Hollywood film comes to mind. Instead of "Dumb and Dumber," we have, "Sleazy, Sleazier, and Sleaziest" done sleazily!)
The -er form of a word is listed separately. If you don't find it, it's not a word!--or at least that should be our agreement. For example "renown" is a noun and a verb but there is no"renowner"--"someone who makes renown" since the verb is intransitive, but there is a "tearer"--"one who tears." (There's also a "terror," but never mind.)
By the way, words beginning with the prefix "re" as in, e.g., "reword" are listed separately from words that begin with the "re" that is not a prefix. Again, "renown" is not listed after "rename" but follows "renovate" a few pages later.
The other peculiarities of the entries are explained in the Introduction, which I highly recommend you read. (Be sure your informed opponent has read it!) There it is explained why "You should look always look at several entries above and below the expected place..." when searching for the word in question. You should also read the brief Preface in which the editors explain why some offensive (especially four-letter) words do not appear. Note too that words longer than eight letters (and indeed one-letter words) do not appear (except for some inflected forms) because they are seldom if ever used in a Scrabble game. Of course most veteran players have on occasion played a very nice nine-letter, double triple-word, 50-point bonus word. I did myself once. I wish I could remember what it was.
For casual players, who typically use a collegiate dictionary to settle spelling disputes, the contents of this little green book will come as something of a shock. You mean "zax" is a word? How about "zek"? Can you believe "jefe"? This is just to name three off hand that are not in the Random House college dictionary I have in front of me.
There are in fact in the OSPD seven words beginning with a "q" not followed by a "u" (qaid, qanat, qat, qindar, qintar, qiviut, and qoph--in case you're in the middle of a game). Don't laugh. In some households there is a Scrabble game going on at all times just as in some other households the TV is always on. Random House's college dictionary doesn't give "qaid" or "qanat" but surprisingly has "qadi" which is not given by the OSPD.
I think Scrabble has influenced dictionary compilers because if you look at the Merriam-Webster (the same company that produces the OSPD) Ninth Collegiate (copyright 1985) you will find only qintar, qiviut and qoph. But even more tellingly if you look at Merriam-Webster's Second International Unabridged Dictionary (I have the edition of 1950), the Grand Dame of American dictionaries, you will find that there are no words beginning with a "q" not followed by a "u": no "qat," no "qintar," no "qoph," etc.
With so much variation between dictionaries, the good folks at Merriam-Webster saw a need and filled it. Most people I know play "house rules" and rely on the dictionary(ies) that happen to be in residence. My recommendation is that you buy two of these green books, one in paperback to take with you when you take your Scrabble game on the road, and another in hardback to have at home. Of course if you haven't used this book before it will take some getting used to. But buy a Scrabble software program and practice with this book at hand, and after some time you will find that, with all those extra words to play with, you can really rack up the points!
One other thing to realize is that some of the spellings and even some of the words in the OSPD are really not standard anymore and should not be considered part of the so-called "Standard English" that we all read and (usually) speak. This fact does not detract from the utility of the OSPD for Scrabble players; however, as other reviewers have pointed out, when writing a term paper use a "real" dictionary.
In short, it is not the plentiful number of Scrabble-type words that appear in this dictionary that makes it so valuable--although that is certainly one of its best features. It is rather the definitive way the OSPD demonstrates exactly how different forms of words are spelled, something not always done in your average dictionary.
The OSPD is most valuable because it settles spelling disputes in a quick and unambiguous manner, and that alone is reason enough to buy this book.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
The OSPD is no ordinary dictionary. There are capsule definitions given but no usage tips. All the entries are in caps. Since there are no proper names allowed, this doesn't matter. The most important information about the entries (from the point of view of the Scrabble player) is how they are spelled, how they are made plural, how the gerund and past tenses are formed, and whether you can make comparatives or superlatives out of the word and how.
For example the plural of "bijou" (a jewel) is either "bijoux" or "bijous," and the OSPD gives that info. The gerund of "snib" (to latch) is "snibbing" while the comparative of "sleazy" is "sleazier" and the superlative, "sleaziest." There is also the adverb, "sleazily." (A future Hollywood film comes to mind. Instead of "Dumb and Dumber," we have, "Sleazy, Sleazier, and Sleaziest" done sleazily!)
The -er form of a word is listed separately. If you don't find it, it's not a word!--or at least that should be our agreement. For example "renown" is a noun and a verb but there is no"renowner"--"someone who makes renown" since the verb is intransitive, but there is a "tearer"--"one who tears." (There's also a "terror," but never mind.)
By the way, words beginning with the prefix "re" as in, e.g., "reword" are listed separately from words that begin with the "re" that is not a prefix. Again, "renown" is not listed after "rename" but follows "renovate" a few pages later.
The other peculiarities of the entries are explained in the Introduction, which I highly recommend you read. (Be sure your informed opponent has read it!) There it is explained why "You should look always look at several entries above and below the expected place..." when searching for the word in question. You should also read the brief Preface in which the editors explain why some offensive (especially four-letter) words do not appear. Note too that words longer than eight letters (and indeed one-letter words) do not appear (except for some inflected forms) because they are seldom if ever used in a Scrabble game. Of course most veteran players have on occasion played a very nice nine-letter, double triple-word, 50-point bonus word. I did myself once. I wish I could remember what it was.
For casual players, who typically use a collegiate dictionary to settle spelling disputes, the contents of this little green book will come as something of a shock. You mean "zax" is a word? How about "zek"? Can you believe "jefe"? This is just to name three off hand that are not in the Random House college dictionary I have in front of me.
There are in fact in the OSPD seven words beginning with a "q" not followed by a "u" (qaid, qanat, qat, qindar, qintar, qiviut, and qoph--in case you're in the middle of a game). Don't laugh. In some households there is a Scrabble game going on at all times just as in some other households the TV is always on. Random House's college dictionary doesn't give "qaid" or "qanat" but surprisingly has "qadi" which is not given by the OSPD.
I think Scrabble has influenced dictionary compilers because if you look at the Merriam-Webster (the same company that produces the OSPD) Ninth Collegiate (copyright 1985) you will find only qintar, qiviut and qoph. But even more tellingly if you look at Merriam-Webster's Second International Unabridged Dictionary (I have the edition of 1950), the Grand Dame of American dictionaries, you will find that there are no words beginning with a "q" not followed by a "u": no "qat," no "qintar," no "qoph," etc.
With so much variation between dictionaries, the good folks at Merriam-Webster saw a need and filled it. Most people I know play "house rules" and rely on the dictionary(ies) that happen to be in residence. My recommendation is that you buy two of these green books, one in paperback to take with you when you take your Scrabble game on the road, and another in hardback to have at home. Of course if you haven't used this book before it will take some getting used to. But buy a Scrabble software program and practice with this book at hand, and after some time you will find that, with all those extra words to play with, you can really rack up the points!
One other thing to realize is that some of the spellings and even some of the words in the OSPD are really not standard anymore and should not be considered part of the so-called "Standard English" that we all read and (usually) speak. This fact does not detract from the utility of the OSPD for Scrabble players; however, as other reviewers have pointed out, when writing a term paper use a "real" dictionary.
In short, it is not the plentiful number of Scrabble-type words that appear in this dictionary that makes it so valuable--although that is certainly one of its best features. It is rather the definitive way the OSPD demonstrates exactly how different forms of words are spelled, something not always done in your average dictionary.
The OSPD is most valuable because it settles spelling disputes in a quick and unambiguous manner, and that alone is reason enough to buy this book.
--Dennis Littrell, author of the mystery novel, “Teddy and Teri”
May 1, 2007
This really helps. It's a great alternative to fist fighting.
January 8, 2015
i was so lost before this book entered my life.
much more life-changing than life of pi.
much more life-changing than life of pi.
January 3, 2008
I have not read this book all the way through, as I'm not that fanatic a Scrabble player, but it is certainly a useful article.
February 14, 2008
Good reference for game play.
May 14, 2008
I bet you couldn't find any mistakes in this book! :D My family has been definitely used this book well because we are major Scrabble and other word game fans!
October 24, 2012
sporadic reading. LOVE IT!
Read
September 16, 2015i've been obsessed w/ the words with friends game since my bout w/ bronchitis in december. i'm so excited about having the official scrabble dictionary at my side.
May 11, 2013
Remembered the ' read Scrabble dictionary ' thing
Read
April 26, 2016who reads a damn dictionary, goodreads HELLO! Stop reminding me. I use this all the time, I'm a scrabble addict
May 12, 2016
If you play Scrabble, this is essential.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews