Crossword Solver

A crossword solver is a tool that takes the information available in your puzzle — letter positions already filled in and the written clue — and searches a large word list to propose valid answers. Unlike a general word search, a crossword solver understands two distinct inputs: positional patterns (the grid mask) and clue text (the description or definition provided by the puzzle editor).

Our implementation covers both modes in a single tool. In pattern mode, you type the answer mask exactly as it appears in the grid — known letters in their fixed positions, blank squares as question marks or underscores. The solver matches that template against 350,000+ indexed English words in milliseconds. In clue mode, you paste or type the crossword clue verbatim, and the engine scores candidates by semantic similarity, token overlap with definitions, and a curated seed corpus of known clue-answer pairs.

Both modes are designed for real-puzzle use: NYT crosswords, LA Times crosswords, USA Today, and the hundreds of daily crossword apps that share the same clue conventions. Whether you are a beginner who needs occasional help or an experienced solver who just wants to confirm a tricky crossing, this tool gives you production-grade results without registration, downloads, or fees.

The most powerful crossword-solving technique is combining a clue with the letters you have already confirmed from crossing entries. Even one or two known letters can reduce hundreds of possible answers to just two or three candidates. Our tool supports this by letting you switch between pattern mode and clue mode within the same search, or by entering a clue alongside a partial pattern.

For example, if a clue says "Greek god of war" and the grid gives you four squares with R confirmed at position two, you can enter ?R?? in pattern mode. The results immediately confirm ARES — not MARS (the Roman equivalent), which starts with M, not ends with R. That single crossing letter would have been ambiguous in clue mode alone.

When clue mode returns several candidates with similar confidence scores, switch to pattern mode with the letters you trust. Known letters at the start or end of an answer are particularly useful because the starts-with and ends-with filters apply before the main pattern match, halving the candidate pool before scoring begins.

For deeper exploration of clue-based solving, visit our dedicated Crossword Clue Solver page, which covers clue types, interpretation strategies, and the difference between straight clues and cryptic indicators.

Crossword patterns are positional constraints. Unlike a "contains QU" filter, pattern ?R?W? requires R in the second position and W in the fourth — nothing else qualifies. This is the same logic Wordle uses for green tiles, but crossword patterns are simpler: there is no yellow "wrong position" feedback, only known letters and blanks.

We accept both ? and _ as wildcards because different publications and solver apps use different conventions. Mixed input like H__S_N normalizes internally to a single wildcard character before matching.

Optional filters stack on top of the pattern: starts-with and ends-with for partial theme answers, contains when you know a substring must appear outside fixed positions, and exclude letters when crossing entries rule out certain characters. These filters mirror how experienced solvers eliminate impossible candidates after checking perpendicular words.

Want more advanced pattern techniques? See our Crossword Pattern Finder guide for strategies on multi-constraint patterns and common grid positions.

The New York Times crossword is the most-solved daily puzzle in the English-speaking world. Monday puzzles use straightforward definitions; difficulty escalates through the week, with Thursday grids often featuring rebuses or unconventional fill and Sunday puzzles running at a 21×21 themed format. Our clue engine covers the direct- definition and geography/trivia clues that dominate Monday through Wednesday, and pattern mode handles the remaining grid positions once crossing letters are confirmed.

The LA Times crossword and USA Today crossword follow similar conventions but tend toward friendlier vocabulary and cleaner definitions. Clue mode scores highly on these puzzles because their fill tends to be standard English vocabulary without the wordplay layer common in late-week NYT. For themed LA Times entries, pattern mode with one or two crossing letters resolves ambiguity quickly.

Universal, Newsday, and crossword apps like the NYT Mini share the same input conventions this tool supports: a fixed-length answer slot, a text clue, and letters from crossing entries. If your puzzle gives you the clue and the grid, our solver can help — regardless of publisher.

For today's puzzle hints and daily answers, visit our Daily Puzzle Hints page for Connections, Strands, and Spelling Bee help.

Clue solving is harder than pattern matching because clues are written for humans, not databases. A clue like "Lead actor?" might mean STAR, HEAD, or even PB (chemical symbol) depending on wordplay. Our clue engine uses layered matching: exact and fuzzy phrase similarity, token overlap with stop-word removal, synonym fields in the clue corpus, and lightweight metadata fallback when no curated clue exists.

Each clue result includes a confidence score from 0–100%. High confidence (80%+) usually means a strong match in the seed clue database. Mid-range scores suggest partial token overlap — worth checking against crossing letters. Low scores may be metadata-only matches; treat them as starting points, not definitive answers.

Pattern Finder excels at exploratory searches — all five-letter words starting with RE, words containing QU, six-letter words with X but not Z. It does not treat per-position masks as first-class input. Use Pattern Finder for vocabulary building; use Crossword Solver when you have a grid mask.

Anagram Solver rearranges a fixed set of letters from a rack or scrambled phrase. Crossword solving rarely gives you a bag of letters — it gives you fixed positions and blanks. Anagram mode helps cryptic crosswords with anagram indicators ("mixed up", "broken") but not standard grid fill.

Wordle Solver handles green/yellow/gray feedback across multiple guess rows for five-letter words only. Crossword patterns generalize to any length and do not model yellow "wrong position" constraints.

Word Unscrambler remains the best choice for Scrabble and Words with Friends racks with wildcard tiles. Crossword Solver links to it when you need related tools after finding a candidate answer.