Words Ending in ID

ID Endings: Science, Scrabble, and Six-Letter Crossword Answers

BID, DID, HID, KID, LID, RID — the three-letter ID words are some of the first words children learn to read. But the ID ending really gets interesting at five letters and beyond, where scientific terminology takes over. ARACHNID, ASTEROID, THYROID, ANDROID, PYRAMID — these words use -ID and -OID suffixes borrowed from Greek, meaning "resembling" or "having the form of." HUMANOID means resembling a human, ASTEROID resembles a star (at least that's what the Greeks thought). This Greek -OID pattern is one of the most productive in scientific English and shows up in crossword puzzles constantly.

For Scrabble players, the ID ending is tactically valuable. The I and D tiles are both common in racks (I appears 9 times in a standard set, D appears 4 times), so you'll often have the raw materials. ACRID (8 points), FETID (9 points), and LUCID (8 points) are five-letter words that score modestly but play well on tight boards. The standout move is SQUID — it's 15 points base and uses the Q-U combination that most players struggle to deploy. Competitive players also memorize -ID words that double as adjective hooks: RAPID, VIVID, SOLID, STUPID can all take -LY to extend on the board.

Explore related patterns at words starting with C for dozens of scientific -ID terms, words starting with UN for UNDID and other negated forms, and words starting with P for PYRAMID, PLACID, and more. Also try words starting with D for words where D appears at both ends.

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