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D is the 10th most common letter in English at about 4.3% of text — a solid mid-frequency consonant. It has a critical dual role: as a regular consonant (DOG, DAD) and as the standard past-tense ending (-ED) that attaches to roughly half of English verbs.
In Scrabble, D is worth 2 points, with 4 tiles in the bag. Because -ED turns nearly any verb into a D-ending word, D tiles are very valuable for extending existing board plays. High-scoring D-words include DJINN, DJINS, DAZZLE, DOZE, DZOS, and DRIZZLY.
Productive D-prefixes: DE- (down, away — DEFINE, DEDUCE), DIS- (apart — DISABLE, DISPLACE), DIA- (across — DIAGRAM, DIAGONAL), DUO- (two). D-initial words also include the full productive -DOM suffix-derived family (FREEDOM, WISDOM) as compound forms of shorter roots.
We count 16,604 D-initial words in the reference list — about 4.6% of the whole dictionary. That proportion tracks D’s overall frequency in English text (4.3%, which ranks it 10th).
Our highest-value D-initial play is DECITIZENIZING, scoring 36 raw points under TWL scoring. A triple-word square would triple that total. The D tile carries 2 points on its own.
The shortest word in our list starting with D is DA (2 letters). Short D-words are valuable in Scrabble and Words With Friends for quick scoring on premium squares without emptying your rack.