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Crossword Solver
Find crossword answers from a clue, narrow them down by length, and fill in letters you already know. Browse possible answers before choosing the one that fits your puzzle.
Answer matches
Find the right fit
One clue can have several answers.
Start with the clue. If your crossword has crossing letters, enter them to rule out answers that cannot fit.
Clues before guesses
What Is a Crossword Solver?
A crossword solver helps you turn a short clue into possible answers, then narrow those answers using the squares you already have.
In a crossword, the clue is only half the information. A word like “opening” might refer to a doorway, an opportunity, or the first part of a performance. The number of squares and the answers crossing that entry provide the rest. A good crossword solver offers several plausible fills instead of treating the first dictionary synonym as a certainty.
This page is designed for the moment you have a stubborn Across or Down clue and want to keep solving the puzzle yourself. Enter the clue exactly as printed, or start with the letters you have already worked out. The crossword solver can combine those clues and crossing letters, so each new letter makes the list shorter and more useful.
That is different from a Word Search Solver, which finds hidden words in a letter grid. Here, the challenge is deciding which word the setter intended. Standard definition clues are the easiest to check; cryptic clues and theme-dependent jokes may require you to work out the trick before any suggested answer makes sense.
A better way to narrow it down
How to Use the Crossword Solver
Start with the clue's meaning, then let the length and crossing letters eliminate answers that cannot fit.
Enter the clue
Type the wording printed beside your Across or Down number. The crossword solver compares that clue with known clue-answer pairs and related phrasings. You can search without knowing the answer's length, although providing it makes the suggestions much more useful.
Add length and crossings
Count the white squares for that entry. If you already know some intersecting letters, type them into the small boxes or use a pattern such as E??. A five-letter guess cannot appear in a three-square slot, no matter how well it fits the clue.
Compare candidate answers
Review exact matches, related clues, and similar-meaning suggestions. Click Copy when you find a useful candidate. Before writing it into the grid, check the clue's grammar and make sure its letters agree with the Down or Across answers that cross it.
Clue examples
When the Same Clue Has More Than One Answer
Crossword clues are short on purpose. The missing context is often supplied by the number of squares, the puzzle's theme, or neighboring answers.
“Large flightless bird”
The clue can point toward an EMU or an OSTRICH. If the slot contains three squares, EMU is a practical answer. If there are seven, OSTRICH becomes the better fit. One known letter makes that distinction even clearer.
Try: Length 3 · E??
“Opposite of west”
Usually the simplest answer is EAST, a four-letter direction. But crossword setters sometimes use the same everyday words in titles, names, or wordplay. An answer matching the dictionary definition is a starting point, not a substitute for checking the crossings.
Try: Length 4 · E???
Real puzzles, real sticking points
When a Crossword Solver Is Most Useful
Some entries need a definition; others need one more letter, a second interpretation, or a fresh look at the puzzle's theme.
One stubborn clue in a daily crossword
You know the clue but have not solved the neighboring entries yet. Begin with a clue-only search and scan the short list for likely definitions. If two words make sense, leave both possibilities open. Once you solve a Down answer, return to the crossword solver with that crossing letter instead of guessing between them.
An answer that is almost filled in
Perhaps you have ?A?E? but cannot see the word. Try those letters as a pattern, even without the clue. If the results look odd, check the letters you entered earlier: a single mistaken crossing can hide the correct fill. Replace an uncertain letter with ? and search again.
A themed puzzle with an unusual answer
Long Sunday puzzles and themed crosswords sometimes bend an otherwise straightforward clue. A clue-based search can give you the ordinary answer, but the actual entry may add letters or use a different meaning. Use the crossword solver to test the basic interpretation, then compare it with the theme revealer and surrounding entries.
A paper puzzle without easy copy and paste
If you are working from a newspaper or printed worksheet, you do not need to recreate the whole grid on your phone. Type one clue, count its squares, and tap the crossing-letter boxes for the letters you know. Keep the printed puzzle in front of you and use each result as a hint, not an automatic fill.
Crossword solving tips
What Your Clue Is Really Asking
Different clues call for different kinds of reasoning. Knowing the type can help you decide whether a proposed answer belongs in the grid.
Straight definitions
A clue such as “Frozen water” usually needs a direct synonym like ICE. Check whether the puzzle expects a noun, verb, or adjective; a grammatical mismatch is a useful warning sign.
Abbreviations and short fills
A clue that says “for short,” “abbr.,” or uses an abbreviated label may want an acronym. Two- and three-letter entries are especially dependent on crossing letters because many common abbreviations fit.
Question marks and wordplay
A question mark can signal a playful or unexpected reading. A good dictionary match may still be wrong if it ignores a pun, a double meaning, or a clue that is deliberately indirect.
Themes, plurals, and tense
A themed puzzle may reinterpret everyday clues. Plural clues often take plural answers, and past-tense verbs usually call for past-tense fills. When in doubt, solve an intersecting word first.
Behind the answers
How the Crossword Solver Finds Answers
A useful solver does more than look up the same sentence in a table.
The crossword solver starts with an answer dictionary and indexed clue-answer relationships. An exact wording match is a strong signal, but many puzzles describe the same answer in different ways. Keyword matching finds clues that share important terms, while semantic matching, when available, can bring back answers associated with a similar idea even if the words are different.
Any length or known-letter pattern is a hard rule. If you ask for C?O?S, an answer must have five letters and agree with the C, O, and S in those positions. Meaning-based matches cannot override those letters. Results favor direct clues and familiar fills, but a less common answer can still be right in a particular crossword.
If the word bank does not resolve a difficult clue, you can request optional AI suggestions. These are clearly marked because AI can misunderstand wordplay or confidently propose a plausible word that is not the intended entry. Nothing on this page silently fills your puzzle or treats a single guess as guaranteed.
Looking to make a puzzle instead? The Crossword Generator builds a printable grid from words and clues you supply. Or try our Printable Crosswords for ready-made puzzles with separate answer keys.
FAQs
Crossword Solver Questions
How do I use the Crossword Solver?
Enter the clue as it appears in your crossword. If you know the answer length, add it; enter any crossing letters with ? for blanks. Choose a candidate that fits both the definition and the puzzle grid.
Can I search with only a crossword clue?
Yes. The clue is enough to start. Because the same clue can refer to more than one word, the solver displays multiple possible answers and ranks them rather than assuming a single answer is always correct.
Can I solve a crossword with missing letters?
Yes. Enter a pattern such as C??SS for a five-letter answer whose first, fourth, and fifth letters are known. You can enter just the pattern, or combine it with a clue to make the result list more specific.
Does the solver understand different ways of writing a clue?
The solver searches an indexed clue dictionary, including exact wording and related terms. When available, semantic matching compares the meaning of different phrasings. Wordplay, obscure references, and unusual abbreviations can still need manual checking.
Why are there several answers for one clue?
Crossword clues are often intentionally ambiguous. Answer length, intersecting letters, a theme, and the tense of the clue decide which answer actually belongs in your puzzle.
What happens if no answer matches?
First check the letter count and any crossing letters. Remove a letter you're uncertain about or simplify the clue wording. Optional AI suggestions can propose additional possibilities, but they should be verified against the grid.
Can I upload a crossword photo to solve the whole puzzle?
This tool focuses on solving individual clues and partial answer patterns. It does not scan and automatically fill an entire photographed crossword grid. Use the clue text and crossings from your paper or digital puzzle.
Is this crossword clue solver free?
Yes. Dictionary and letter-pattern searches are free. AI suggestions, when available, are a separate optional feature with daily limits to keep the service sustainable.
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