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S is the 9th most common letter in English at about 6.3%, but it punches far above its weight because S is the universal English plural marker and a common verb inflection. Almost any English noun can be pluralised with -S, and almost any English verb can become third-person singular with -S.
In Scrabble, S is worth 1 point with only 4 S tiles in the bag. S is the single most valuable common tile because of pluralisation — a single S can turn any noun on the board into its plural form, stacking two scores at once. Tournament wisdom says: never play an S unless it earns at least 8 extra points beyond a non-S alternative.
S-initial words dominate several specific prefixes: SUB- (below — SUBMIT, SUBMARINE), SUPER- (above — SUPERIOR, SUPERMARKET), SUR- (above/beyond, Anglo-French — SURVIVE, SURROUND), SYM- / SYN- (with — SYNCHRONIZE, SYMPATHY). S- also produces an enormous number of Anglo-Saxon mono- and disyllabic roots: SIT, SING, STAND, STONE, STAR.
We count 31,941 S-initial words in the reference list — about 8.9% of the whole dictionary. That proportion tracks S’s overall frequency in English text (6.3%, which ranks it 9th).
Our highest-value S-initial play is SCHEMOZZLING, scoring 38 raw points under TWL scoring. A triple-word square would triple that total. The S tile carries 1 point on its own.
The shortest word in our list starting with S is SH (2 letters). Short S-words are valuable in Scrabble and Words With Friends for quick scoring on premium squares without emptying your rack.