Words Starting With V

V: The Consonant That Never Hides

V has a peculiar distinction in English: it is never silent. Every V you see in a word is pronounced — no exceptions. Compare that to B (SUBTLE, DOUBT), K (KNIFE, KNOCK), or G (GNAW, SIGN), all of which can disappear from pronunciation. This consistency makes V predictable in both spelling and sound, which is useful when you're working through crossword clues. If the clue's answer has a V sound, there's a V in the spelling. No guessing required. In Scrabble, V is worth 4 points and sits on two tiles per bag. It's not flashy, but with 2,859 words starting with V, you'll never lack options. VALE, VALVE, VAPOR, VAULT, VENOM, VERGE, VISTA, VIVID, VOCAL, VOUCH — the range is broad and the words are familiar.

The second unusual thing about V: no standard English word ends with a bare V. Every final /v/ sound gets a silent E bolted on — LOVE, GIVE, NERVE, TWELVE, NATIVE. This convention dates to medieval scribes who couldn't distinguish U and V at word boundaries (the two letters were written identically). The practical effect for word games? V-starters are your primary route for playing the V tile, because V almost never appears at the end of a playable word. VALVE and VIVID, with their internal Vs, are crossword favorites precisely because the double-V pattern locks in crossing letters quickly.

Here's a V tip most players miss: there's no valid two-letter V word in standard Scrabble dictionaries. That means you always need at least three letters to play V, which makes rack management important — don't hold V alongside other hard-to-play consonants. Burn it early with VAC, VAN, VAT, VET, VIA, VIE, or VOW. Study words starting with K and words starting with J for other mid-value consonants. For patterns that cross well with V words in grids, see words ending in OR and words starting with E.

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