How many Scrabble words end in V?

Very few English words end in V. In the TWL dictionary, there are approximately 15-20 valid words ending in V, including REV, DEV, GOV, LEV, TAV, VAV, LUV, GUV, PERV, SPIV, and GANEV. SOWPODS includes additional words like DERV and OLLAV. This makes V-ending words rare and valuable knowledge for competitive play.

What are the best V-ending plays in Scrabble?

The best V-ending plays exploit the rarity of these words. REV (6pts) and DEV (7pts) are quick dumps that free your rack. For higher scores, PERV (9pts) and SPIV (9pts) are 4-letter options. The real value is defensive — ending a word in V limits your opponent's hook options since very few letters can follow V to form valid words.

Can you hook onto a word ending in V?

Hooking onto V-ending words is extremely limited. Most words ending in V cannot take an S hook. This makes V-endings defensively strong — your opponent has very few ways to extend your word. However, some words like REV can form REVS in certain dictionaries, so always check your specific tournament dictionary.

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Words Ending in V: Complete Scrabble List

June 20, 2026 7 min read

English has a peculiar aversion to ending words with V. While hundreds of words contain V in the middle or beginning, the number that actually terminate in V is shockingly small. For Scrabble players, this rarity creates both a challenge (how do you dump a V tile late?) and an opportunity (V-endings are nearly impossible for opponents to hook). Here is every valid V-ending word you need to know.

~20

V-Ending Words (TWL)

4 pts

V Tile Value

V Tiles in Bag

Common S-Hooks

Complete V-Ending Words by Length

These are all the valid Scrabble words that end in the letter V, organized by word length. Memorize the short ones first — they are your escape routes when V is stuck on your rack.

3-Letter V-Ending Words

REV (6pts) — to increase engine speed · DEV (7pts) — a Hindu god · GOV (7pts) — a governor · GUV (7pts) — informal for governor · LEV (6pts) — Bulgarian currency · LUV (6pts) — informal for love · TAV (6pts) — Hebrew letter · VAV (9pts) — Hebrew letter · LAV (6pts) — lavatory

4-Letter V-Ending Words

PERV (9pts) — a voyeur · SPIV (9pts) — a petty criminal · DERV (8pts) — diesel fuel (SOWPODS) · CHIV (12pts) — a knife · SHIV (10pts) — a knife · ERUV (7pts) — Jewish boundary

5-Letter V-Ending Words

GANEV (9pts) — a thief · SCHAV (13pts) — a cold soup · PAREV (10pts) — kosher designation · OLLAV (8pts) — SOWPODS only

6+ Letter V-Ending Words

IMPROV (13pts) — improvisation · MAZEL TOV is not one word in Scrabble · Most 6+ letter V-endings are SOWPODS exclusives and extremely rare in tournament play

Why V-Ending Words Are Rare

English spelling conventions almost always add a silent E after V at the end of words. Think LOVE, GIVE, HAVE, MOVE — all end in VE, not V alone. The words that do end in V are mostly borrowed from other languages: Hebrew (TAV, VAV), Bulgarian (LEV), Yiddish (GANEV), or British slang (GUV, LUV).

💡 Linguistic Insight

The "no English word ends in V" rule is one of the oldest spelling conventions in the language. It dates back to Middle English when scribes added -e to distinguish V from U (which shared the same character). Words like REV and GOV are modern abbreviations that break this ancient rule.

✓ Origin: Hebrew Letters

TAV and VAV are Hebrew alphabet letters. Both are valid in TWL and SOWPODS, making them essential V-ending knowledge for any player.

✗ Common Mistakes

BRAV, NARV, SOLV, GRAV — none of these are valid. Players often try abbreviations or invented words ending in V. Stick to the known list above.

Strategy for V-Ending Hooks

V-ending words are defensively powerful because they are nearly impossible to extend. Most V-ending words cannot take an S hook, and very few front hooks work either. Use this to your advantage.

Defensive V-endings: When you play a word ending in V near a premium square, your opponent has almost no way to hook onto it. This protects Triple Word squares effectively — play REV or DEV next to a TW and sleep easy.

Quick V dump in endgame: If you are stuck with V late in the game, REV, DEV, GOV, and LUV all use common letters (R, E, D, G, O, L, U). You will almost always have the companion letter to offload V.

SOWPODS advantage: International players have slightly more options with DERV, OLLAV, and other SOWPODS-exclusive V-endings. Know your dictionary — check whether your tournament uses TWL or SOWPODS before relying on these.

VAV is the V-play MVP: VAV scores 9 points and uses two V tiles (if you have both). Since V is worth 4 points each, getting both V tiles down in one word is highly efficient. Plus VAV on a DW square scores 18 points.

V Tile Management

The V tile (4 points, 2 in bag) is one of the trickiest consonants to manage. It pairs poorly with other consonants and demands vowels — particularly E, A, I, and O.

🧩 V Management Decision Tree

Draw V → Check for VE, VA, VI combinations in longer words first (OVER, FIVE, GIVE, HAVE)

If no good VE word → Play a V-ending word (REV, DEV, GOV) to dump it efficiently

If stuck with both V tiles → Look for VAV (uses both), VIVID, VALVE, or REVIVE opportunities

Late game with V on rack → Exchange if 7+ tiles remain in bag. Otherwise play REV/DEV for quick dump

V4 pts ×2in bag REVmost common SCHAVhighest pts

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Sharpen Your Skills

Use the solver daily: Enter your rack tiles into our free word finder to discover every valid combination. Repeated exposure to word patterns builds recognition speed that transfers directly to competitive play.

Study in clusters: Group words by shared patterns rather than memorising randomly. Pattern-based learning is three times more effective for long-term retention than isolated word lists.

Active recall over passive reading: After reviewing this page, close it and try to write down as many words as you can remember. Testing yourself strengthens neural pathways far more than re-reading.

📚 Keep Learning

→ How to Improve at Scrabble Fast — Proven Methods → Rack Management Basics — Balance Your Tiles

Hook Plays & Extensions

Words ending in IN-V create powerful hook opportunities. A hook is when you add letters to an existing word on the board to form a new valid word. If an opponent plays a word, and you can extend it by adding IN-V at the end (or build a parallel word ending in IN-V), you score points for both the new letters and the entire modified word.

🪝 Hooking Strategy

Keep an eye on words already on the board that can be extended with an IN-V ending. This lets you build off your opponent's plays for big combination scores, especially near premium squares.

Defensively, knowing which words end in IN-V helps you avoid leaving hook opportunities for your opponent. Before placing a word, ask yourself: can my opponent add letters to what I just played? If so, consider a different placement that leaves fewer extension points exposed, particularly near triple-word squares.

The IN-V ending pattern also helps with rack management. When you recognise that your remaining tiles could form a word ending in IN-V, you can plan one or two turns ahead — playing supporting tiles first to set up a higher-scoring IN-V word on your next turn. This forward-thinking approach is a hallmark of competitive-level Scrabble.

📚 Sources & References

• SOWPODS International Dictionary (267,751 words), Collins + TWL combined
• Tournament Word List (TWL06), NASPA Word List Committee
• Collins Scrabble Words (CSW), HarperCollins Publishers
• Tile distribution & values per Hasbro official Scrabble rules