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Word Pattern Matcher

Find words that match a given pattern using wildcards — solve crossword blanks, hangman puzzles, and word games.

About Word Pattern Matcher

The Word Pattern Matcher finds all English words that match a given letter pattern, using underscores or question marks as wildcards for unknown letters. Enter a pattern like _at (matches bat, cat, hat, rat) or c_t (matches cat, cot, cut) and the tool returns every dictionary word that fits. This is invaluable for solving crossword puzzles where some letters are already filled in, cracking hangman puzzles, or exploring what words fit a particular structure. You can also specify known letters at exact positions and blank positions simultaneously for highly targeted searches.

Why use Word Pattern Matcher

Instantly searches a large

Instantly searches a large English dictionary for pattern matches.

Accepts _ or ?

Accepts _ or ? as wildcard characters for unknown positions.

Works for any word length

Works for any word length — from 2-letter to 15-letter words.

Runs offline in your

Runs offline in your browser after initial page load.

Solves crossword clues with

Solves crossword clues with partial fills in seconds.

Helps build vocabulary by

Helps build vocabulary by browsing words that share a structural shape.

How to use Word Pattern Matcher

  1. Enter your word pattern using _ or ? for unknown letters (e.g. c_t or _ight).
  2. Click Match to find all English words fitting the pattern.
  3. Filter results by word length or scroll through the full list.
  4. Click any matched word to copy it.
  5. Use _ for unknown letters at any position; mix in known letters where you have them.
  6. Set a length filter to restrict results to a specific word length.
  7. Click any matched word to copy it to your clipboard for quick puzzle entry.

When to use Word Pattern Matcher

  • Filling in crossword puzzle blanks where some letters are known.
  • Solving hangman or word-guessing games.
  • Finding rhyming words by matching a pattern ending (e.g. _ight for night, sight, light).
  • Exploring vocabulary for creative writing by browsing word shapes.
  • Generating brand or domain names matching a specific letter shape.
  • Educational exercises around prefixes, suffixes, or rhyming endings.

Examples

Three-letter pattern

Input: c_t

Output: cat, cot, cut

Five-letter rhyme

Input: _ight

Output: light, might, night, right, sight, tight, fight

Prefix with two unknowns

Input: pre__

Output: press, preen, preff (filtered to dictionary words)

Tips

  • For Scrabble or Words with Friends, use known board letters as fixed positions and underscores for blanks.
  • Combine with the Anagram Solver — first generate possible words, then test specific pattern fills.
  • Try common letters (E, A, R, T) in unknown positions if you have not narrowed down likely letters.
  • Rhyming searches: pattern '_ight' surfaces light, night, fight, sight, right, etc.
  • If you suspect a prefix like 'un-' or 'pre-', anchor it explicitly to dramatically reduce results.

Frequently Asked Questions

What wildcard characters are supported?▾
Both underscore (_) and question mark (?) are accepted as single-letter wildcards.
Does the pattern have to match the full word?▾
Yes. The pattern must describe the entire word — each position in the pattern corresponds to exactly one letter in the matched word.
Can I use it for multi-word patterns?▾
The tool matches single words only. For multi-word phrases, match each word independently.
How many words are in the dictionary?▾
The word list contains tens of thousands of common English words, covering typical puzzle dictionaries.
Is it case-sensitive?▾
No. Patterns are matched case-insensitively and results are shown in lowercase.
Can I match prefixes or suffixes only?▾
Yes. Use trailing or leading underscores for the variable portion: 'pre___' matches 5-letter words starting with 'pre'.
Is the dictionary the same as the Anagram Solver?▾
Both tools share the same English word list, ensuring consistent results across pattern-based and anagram queries.
Why does my pattern return no matches?▾
Check that the pattern length matches a real word length and that all known letters are valid. Very rare or hyphenated words may not be in the dictionary.

Explore the category

Anagram Solver Find all valid English words that can be formed from the letters of your input word or phrase. Word Counter Count words, chars, sentences and reading time Word Frequency Counter Count repeated words with filters and export ranked results as text or CSV. Pluralizer & Singularizer Convert English nouns between their singular and plural forms using proper grammar rules including irregular words. Syllable Counter Count syllables in words or a full text passage, with per-word breakdown and total syllable count. Word Wrap / Hard Wrap Wrap text at a specified column width with either soft wrap markers or hard newlines for terminal, email, and code formatting.
Regular Expressions: A Practical Guide with Real-World Examples Regex has a reputation for being cryptic, but once you understand a handful of building blocks, even complex patterns become readable. This Jan 2026 · 12 min

Glossary

Pattern
A template describing the shape of a word, with placeholders for unknown letters.
Wildcard
A character (here _ or ?) that stands for any single letter at that position.
Prefix
A meaningful letter group at the start of a word (un-, pre-, re-).
Suffix
A meaningful letter group at the end of a word (-ing, -tion, -ness).
Crossword fill
Letters already placed in a crossword grid that constrain valid answers for crossing entries.
Hangman
A word-guessing game where players guess letters one at a time to fill in a hidden word before exhausting their attempts.