Word Search

Find every hidden word in a grid of letters, across, down, diagonally and backwards. A fresh themed puzzle every time.

Level

EasyMediumHard

Time0:00

Found0/8

Best–

Loading the puzzle…

In the gardenWords to find

BULB
DAISY
HEDGE
ROSE
SHOVEL
SUNFLOWER
TULIP
WORM

Drag across a word, or click its first and last letters. With the keyboard, move with the arrow keys and press Enter on the first and last letters.Slide your finger across a word, or tap its first and last letters.

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About Word Search

Word Search hides a list of words in a square grid of letters. Each word runs in a straight line, and every other square is filled with random letters to disguise them. Find them all to finish the puzzle.

Every puzzle is new: the words come from one of 10 themes, such as animals, space or the kitchen, and are placed in a fresh grid each time. The clock runs while you search, so you can race your own best time at each size.

How to play Word Search

Pick a level: Easy (10 × 10 grid, 8 words, across and down only), Medium (12 × 12 grid, 10 words, across, down and diagonally) or Hard (14 × 14 grid, 12 words, in all eight directions, backwards too).
Find a word from the list in the grid. Drag from its first letter to its last, or click or tap the first letter and then the last.
If the letters you chose spell a word on the list, forwards or backwards, it is circled and struck off the list. Otherwise the selection clears and you can try again.
The clock starts with your first selection. Find every word to finish the puzzle, then start a new one.

Word Search controls

Keyboard
Select a word	Drag across it, or click its first and last letters
Move around the grid	Arrow keys (Tab reaches the grid)
Choose the first or last letter	Enter or Space
Clear a half-made selection	Esc
Hint	H
New puzzle	N
Sound on or off	M

Touch screens
Select a word	Slide across it, or tap its first and last letters
Hint and new puzzle	The buttons above the grid

Word Search rules

Where words can hide

On Easy, words only run left to right and top to bottom. Medium adds the two diagonals that read left to right. On Hard, words can run in all eight directions, so many are written backwards.

Words never bend. They may cross each other and share a letter, and each word on the list appears in the grid exactly once.

Time and hints

The clock starts with your first selection, stops when the last word is found, and pauses while the tab is hidden.

A hint highlights the first letter of a word you have not found yet. Puzzles finished without a hint count towards your best time at that level, which is kept only in this browser.

Tips and strategy

Look for unusual letters first. A word with a J, K, Q, X or Z is easier to spot than one made of common letters.
Scan for a double letter, like the LL in LLAMA or the OO in MOON: pairs stand out in the grid.
On Hard, remember to read backwards. Find the last letter of a word and look for the one before it all around it.
Go through the list from the longest word to the shortest. Long words cover more of the grid and are easier to see.

Frequently asked questions

Are the words always real words?

Yes. Every word comes from a hand-written list for its theme. The filler letters are random, and are checked so they never spell anything rude by accident.