Words With Only Vowels in Scrabble
Every Scrabble player has been there — you look down at your rack and it's nothing but vowels. AEIOU staring back at you with nowhere to go. But vowel-only words exist in the official dictionaries, and knowing them turns a nightmare rack into a strategic dump play. These words let you shed excess vowels, score a few points, and draw fresh consonants from the bag.
Quick Stats — Vowel-Only Words
15
Valid Words
2-3
Letter Range
2-3
Point Range
42
Vowel Tiles in Bag
Vowel-only words are rare — most are just two letters. But they're disproportionately valuable because they solve the most common rack problem in Scrabble: too many vowels. With 42 vowel tiles in the standard 100-tile bag (9×A, 12×E, 9×I, 8×O, 4×U), vowel floods happen constantly.
Complete Vowel-Only Word List
Every word below contains zero consonants. All are valid in SOWPODS (international). Words marked TWL are also valid in the North American tournament dictionary.
| # | Word | Points | Dictionary | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AA | 2 | TWL + SOWPODS | Rough lava |
| 2 | AE | 2 | SOWPODS | One (Scottish) |
| 3 | AI | 2 | TWL + SOWPODS | Three-toed sloth |
| 4 | OE | 2 | SOWPODS | Whirlwind off Faroe Islands |
| 5 | OI | 2 | SOWPODS | Interjection |
| 6 | OU | 2 | SOWPODS | Interjection |
| 7 | EAU | 3 | TWL + SOWPODS | Water (used in perfumery) |
| 8 | AIA | 3 | SOWPODS | Grandmother (Portuguese) |
| 9 | AUA | 3 | SOWPODS | Yellow-eye mullet |
| 10 | AUE | 3 | SOWPODS | Exclamation (NZ) |
| 11 | AAU | 3 | SOWPODS | Variant spelling |
| 12 | EUOI | 4 | SOWPODS | Bacchic exclamation |
| 13 | EUOUAE | 6 | SOWPODS | Medieval musical term |
| 14 | AIEEE | 5 | SOWPODS | Exclamation of alarm |
| 15 | AAUI | 4 | SOWPODS | NZ exclamation |
When Vowel-Only Words Save Your Game
Drawing 5+ vowels in a single turn isn't just annoying — it's statistically common. With 42 vowels in a 100-tile bag, roughly 42% of all tiles are vowels. After your opponent plays consonant-heavy words, the remaining bag becomes even more vowel-dense.
✓ Play Vowel-Only Words
Score 2-6 points, shed 2-3 vowels, draw fresh consonants from the bag. Maintains board presence.
✗ Exchange All Vowels
Scores 0 points, loses your turn entirely, and you might draw more vowels anyway. Only exchange as last resort.
The strategic advantage is clear: playing AA or AI scores modest points while freeing rack space. If you can hook one of these onto an existing word or hit a premium square, even a 2-point word becomes worthwhile when it sets up your next turn.
EUOUAE — The Longest Vowel-Only Word
EUOUAE
6 Points · 6 Letters · All Vowels
EUOUAE is the longest word in the English language composed entirely of vowels. It's a medieval musical term representing a mnemonic for a cadence sequence. Valid in SOWPODS, this 6-letter word scores only 6 points but holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive vowels in a single word.
Strategy Tips
Dump early, dump often: If you have 5+ vowels after your first draw, play AA or AI immediately. Don't wait for a "better" play — the consonants you draw will create those better plays next turn.
Hook onto existing words: AA can hook onto words ending in A (making AAH or AAL with one more tile). AI hooks onto words starting with I. These parallel plays score much more than the base word alone.
Target premium squares: Even AA on a double-word score gives you 4 points and clears a vowel. On a triple-word, it's 6 points. The points matter less than the rack improvement.
Track vowel density: Count remaining vowels in the bag. If 60%+ of remaining tiles are vowels, exchanging won't help — you'll just draw more vowels. Play through it with vowel-only words instead.
Know your dictionary: TWL (North America) accepts fewer vowel-only words than SOWPODS. AA, AI, and EAU are safe in both. AE, OE, OI, and OU are SOWPODS-only — verify which dictionary your game uses.
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Open Word Finder →Building Your Word Arsenal
The difference between a 300-point game and a 400-point game often comes down to vocabulary depth. Players who invest time studying valid Scrabble words consistently outscore those who rely solely on common everyday vocabulary. The words on this page represent a focused subset of the Scrabble dictionary that you can realistically memorise and deploy in competitive play.
Start by identifying which words on this page you already know. Then focus your study time on the unfamiliar ones — particularly those with high point values or unusual letter combinations. The goal is not to memorise the entire dictionary but to build a working vocabulary of 5,000-10,000 words that covers the most common game situations.
Consider keeping a word journal where you record new discoveries from each study session. Writing words down activates different memory pathways than simply reading them. Many tournament players carry small notebooks and review their most recent additions during breaks between rounds.
📚 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
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