Crossword Pattern Solver - Fill in the Blanks

How to use this tool

1. Enter the known letters in their exact positions and use ?, _, ., or one space for each single-letter blank.
2. Use a normalized pattern length from 2 through 15; other punctuation is ignored.
3. Review the matching ENABLE1-based entries. The page shows up to 200 results with the total count, and the PDF includes every match.

Match a fixed letter pattern

This tool compares a fixed pattern with words of the same length. A known letter must match the letter in that position, while a blank accepts any one letter. For example, C?T searches three-letter entries that begin with C and end with T. It checks letter positions directly, so punctuation typed into the field cannot act as a regular expression or change the meaning of the search.

Blank symbols and pattern length

Use one of the supported blank symbols for each empty crossword square. The solver treats each symbol as exactly one letter and normalizes them all to the same blank marker. Other punctuation and symbols are ignored; the remaining pattern must contain between 2 and 15 positions. A multi-letter gap is not supported, so each answer candidate always has the same length as the normalized pattern.

Use crossing letters to narrow answers

Enter the letters already supplied by crossing clues and leave one blank for each unsolved square. For instance, n_ght can return NIGHT, and p?a?et can return PLANET. If a pattern has no matches, check the number of squares, then try replacing a letter that may have been copied incorrectly with one blank symbol. The displayed list is limited to 200 results for large searches; its count still reports the total, and the PDF export includes every match.

Dictionary coverage and limits

The local dictionary contains 168,553 entries: 168,551 unique ENABLE1 words filtered to lowercase English letters with lengths from 2 through 15, plus the compatibility entries qi and za. ENABLE1 was compiled by Alan Beale and M. Leo Cooper and released into the public domain; this filtered list is based on the ENABLE1 source list. It is a broad reference, not an official tournament or game-specific word list, so a result may be rejected by a particular crossword publisher or word game, and valid answers outside the list will not appear. The bundled list and pattern matching stay in your browser; the pattern is not sent to a server.

Patterns are not clue search

This page only checks letter patterns. It does not search clue text, explain definitions, or rearrange letters from an anagram clue. If all you have is a clue or a jumbled set of letters, use a clue-reference tool or the Anagram Solver / Word Unscrambler instead, then check any candidate against your crossing letters here.