Words Starting With B

B Words in Word Games: Bigger Than You Think

B gets overlooked in word games, and that's a mistake. Worth 3 points in Scrabble with 2 tiles in the bag, B anchors a deep word family — from simple plays like BAD, BIG, and BUS to more exotic options like BAGNIO, BEZIQUE, and BRAVURA. English got its B words from everywhere: Germanic roots (BREAD, BRING, BREAK), Latin (BENEFIT, BISECT), French (BUREAU, BOUQUET), and even Hindi (BUNGALOW). That diversity means B-words span every register from casual to technical.

One thing crossword solvers should know: B is the rarest starting letter to appear in the top 100 most common English words. THE, OF, AND, TO, A — you have to go pretty far down the frequency list before hitting a B-word (BE, BUT, BY). Yet B-start words are plentiful in the dictionary. This gap between everyday frequency and dictionary breadth means B-word clues in crosswords often point toward less common vocabulary. If the clue feels obscure and the answer starts with B, think Latin or French origins.

Strategy tip: In Scrabble, B's best friend is the blank tile. BIZARRE, BAPTIZE, and BRAZEN all combine B with high-value letters for potential bingo plays. The two-letter words BA, BE, BI, BO are all valid and crucial for parallel plays. Check out words starting with C for another 3-point consonant with similar versatility, or browse words starting with Q for high-risk, high-reward tile combinations. For end-game options, words ending in B covers the less common but valuable final-B plays like THROB and SUPERB.

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