The 'Official'
Online Scrabble Dictionary
There are plenty of sites that masquerade under the title of online Scrabble dictionary, but if you want to adjudicate a Scrabble game without arguments, you really want something 'official'. There are two official online Scrabble dictionaries corresponding to the fact that the 'official' label depends on where you are playing.
Hasbro's Official Online Scrabble Dictionary
For Scrabble games played in North America
 In North America, Scrabble is owned by Hasbro who commission Merriam-Webster to compile the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, which contains all valid Scrabble words (up to eight letters long) recommended for School and Family Scrabble games. Just click the image above to go to Hasbro's Scrabble word checker. Here are a few important usage notes relating to this handy lookup tool... As you can see, the Hasbro online word lookup tool gives you two options. If you want to check whether or not a word is allowed in Scrabble, just enter the base form of the word in the Scrabble Dictionary box, check the Exact matches only box, and click Go. To check the word CARRYING, for example, you should enter the base word CARRY. If the word is valid, you'll see the meaning of the word along with its inflected forms (CARRIED, CARRYING, and so on) below the lookup tool. If the word you entered is not valid, you'll get the message '0 words found'. If you do this search with the Exact matches only unchecked you'll get a list of extensions containing your base word (e.g. MISCARRY). If you want to find all the words that can be formed from a set of tiles, just enter the letters in the Scrabble Word Builder box and click Go. You'll get a list of all the valid Scrabble words, of two letters and longer, that can be made from those letters.
Mattel's Official Online Scrabble Dictionary
For Scrabble games played outside of North America
Outside of North America, Scrabble is owned by Mattel. Mattel appointed Collins to compile its official dictionary, and Collins' official online Scrabble dictionary is available right here. That's him just above! Simply enter the word you're unsure about and click CHECK...If the word is allowed, you'll see a Definition button appear. Just click this button to display the meaning of the word. To adjudicate another word, click the close box (that's the one with the little cross) to close the dictionary window and reopen the Scrabble word checker. If you don't like all the crazy words that Collins Official Scrabble Dictionary allows, the Definition window also indicates (in small print at the bottom) whether the word you entered is allowed in either of the smaller Collins Gem or Scrabble Pocket dictionaries. If you experiment with the weird word YRIVD, for example, you'll see that although it's allowed in Collins Official Scrabble Dictionary, it isn't allowed in either of the smaller dictionaries. - NOTE — Collins online scrabble word checker also lists the 'score' for the word you entered. This just tells you the total face value of the tiles in the word. This is actually a bit of useless information since it doesn't take into account premium (i.e. colored) squares and blank tiles, so you can safely ignore it.
And by the way, if you find tips like this helpful, you'll probably enjoy my free eZine, Word-Buff Stuff. I send it out from time to time when I come across interesting snippets from the world of Scrabble, Crosswords, Spelling Bees, and other word games. If it sounds like your kinda thing, just pop your details in the box below, and I'll make sure you get the next issue...
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