What is the highest-scoring 5-letter word ending with U?

KUDZU scores 19 points, the highest of the 63 valid 5-letter words ending with U in the SOWPODS dictionary.

How many 5-letter words ending with U are there in Scrabble?

There are 63 valid 5-letter words ending with U in the SOWPODS (international) dictionary.

How many points is the letter U worth in Scrabble?

U is worth 1 point on a standard Scrabble tile.

5 Letter Words Ending with U

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July 30, 2026 7 min read Word Finder

5-letter words ending with U: 63 valid plays. U is one of the common 1-point tiles. The top scorer is KUDZU (19 points). For context, the typical letter in this position gives you around 542 words, so U comes in below that.

Why U at the End Matters

💡 Tile Value

U won't win you points on its own, but a 5-letter word is a full rack commitment either way — the win here is having 63 options ready rather than hunting mid-game.

Because U lands last, 5-letter words ending with U are naturally suited to hooking: adding U onto a shorter word already on the board to build a new one on your turn.

Notable Words

Highest scorer: KUDZU is worth 19 points — U's 1 points plus the rest of the tiles in the word. It's the play to look for if you're building toward a big turn.

Worth memorising first: BAYOU (10 points) is one of the lower scorers here, which usually means it's a more familiar word — a safer one to keep in your working vocabulary than the obscure high scorers.

How many options: 63 valid 5-letter words ending with U exist in SOWPODS — fewer than the ~542 typical for this slot, so it's realistic to learn most of the useful ones.

Try This on the Board

🧩 Worked Example

KUDZU works as a hook too: if KUDZ is already on the board, adding the final U to reach KUDZU lets you play across an existing word rather than starting fresh.