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W is the 18th most common letter in English at about 2.4%. Its name (“double-U”) reveals its origin — W was created by doubling a U in medieval manuscripts. W is distinctive for being one of only three English consonants that can end a syllable with a vowel-like sound (HOW, LOW, SAW).
In Scrabble, W is worth 4 points with 2 W tiles in the bag. W is high-value but scarce; W-initial short words are useful for scoring without emptying the rack. Memorised W-words include WO, WE, WEB, WAX, WIZ, WYE, WON.
Productive W-prefixes are rare in English (W is mostly Anglo-Saxon and doesn’t carry Greek or Latin prefixes), but W does anchor some distinctive word families: WITH- (against — WITHSTAND, WITHDRAW), and the distinctively English digraphs WH- (WHAT, WHERE, WHEN), WR- (WRITE, WRECK, WRING). W-initial Anglo-Saxon roots dominate the common vocabulary: WATER, WINTER, WOOD, WIND, WILL.
Our dictionary lists 5,908 English words beginning with W. That is roughly 1.6% of all the words in our dictionary. W is the 18th most common letter in English (about 2.4% of written text).
At 38 points, WHIZZINGLY leads the W-starting list in Scrabble scoring. Premium squares can multiply this further; the W tile alone is worth 4 points.
The shortest we show is WE at just 2 letters. In Scrabble, short W-words are dump plays: you clear a tile onto a premium square, collect the bonus, and keep your rack flexible.