Words With Y as the Only Vowel
There are 101 words in this list; 61 of them are common words.
Type your own letters to find only the words you can make, or leave it empty to open this list in the word finder.
Y is sometimes a vowel and sometimes a consonant, and in the words on this page it is the only vowel there is. Every entry contains at least one Y and no A, E, I, O or U. The category includes everyday words such as GYM, MYTH, SHY, TRY, FLY, CRYPT and RHYTHM along with a long tail of rarer ones. Puzzle setters like these words because solvers instinctively look for a standard vowel and stall when none fits, so a five-letter word with only a Y is a reliable stumper. In tile games they matter when your rack has no vowels except a Y, which happens more often than you would think late in the game. The list is sorted by length, and the short ones are worth memorising outright. For a specific pattern, use the word finder with a Y in the position you know.
All 101 words
7-letter words (2)
- rhythms18 points
- glycyls16 points
6-letter words (19)
- rhythm17 points
- nymphs16 points
- psychs16 points
- crypts13 points
- flybys17 points
- spryly14 points
- sylphs14 points
- trysts9 points
- synths12 points
- syzygy25 points
- glyphs15 points
- xylyls19 points
- flysch17 points
- sylphy17 points
- lymphs16 points
- glycyl15 points
- myrrhs14 points
- synchs14 points
- ghylls13 points
5-letter words (34)
- myths13 points
- lymph15 points
- nymph15 points
- psych15 points
- hymns13 points
- lynch13 points
- crypt12 points
- dryly12 points
- slyly11 points
- cysts10 points
- pygmy16 points
- gypsy14 points
- shyly14 points
- wryly14 points
- syncs10 points
- flyby16 points
- glyph14 points
- myrrh13 points
- sylph13 points
- tryst8 points
- synth11 points
- ghyll12 points
- xylyl18 points
- mythy16 points
- thymy16 points
- xysts15 points
- stymy13 points
- synch13 points
- syphs13 points
- typps12 points
- wynds12 points
- wynns11 points
- byrls10 points
- rynds9 points
4-letter words (22)
- myth12 points
- whys13 points
- hymn12 points
- gyms10 points
- cyst9 points
- spry9 points
- drys8 points
- gyps10 points
- sync9 points
- lynx14 points
- wynd11 points
- wych15 points
- xyst14 points
- hyps12 points
- syph12 points
- typy12 points
- typp11 points
- wynn10 points
- wyns10 points
- byrl9 points
- scry9 points
- rynd8 points
3-letter words (22)
- why12 points
- fly9 points
- fry9 points
- cry8 points
- dry7 points
- try6 points
- sky10 points
- shy9 points
- thy9 points
- spy8 points
- gym9 points
- wry9 points
- ply8 points
- pry8 points
- sly6 points
- gyp9 points
- pyx15 points
- sty6 points
- hyp11 points
- wyn9 points
- bys8 points
- syn6 points
2-letter words (2)
- by7 points
- my7 points
Quick facts
- Total words: 101
- By usage: 39 very common, 22 common, 40 rare
- Longest: rhythms, glycyls
- Shortest: by, my
Highest scoring (classic tiles)
- syzygy 25
- xylyls 19
- rhythms 18
- xylyl 18
- flybys 17
- flysch 17
- rhythm 17
- sylphy 17
- flyby 16
- glycyls 16
Most common
- why
- fly
- fry
- cry
- by
- dry
- my
- try
- rhythm
- myths
Definitions
- why (noun)
- The cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase ‘the whys and wherefores’.
- fly (adjective)
- (British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked.
- fry (noun)
- A young person of either sex.
- cry (noun)
- A loud utterance; often in protest or opposition.
How to use this page
Browse the list for study, or search it with your rack to find plays. When the list is long, the page shows the first few hundred words and a button loads the rest.
Tips
A word list is also a study tool. Reading through the words with y as the only vowel once or twice is enough to make the unusual ones familiar, and familiarity is what lets you spot a play under time pressure. Try covering the list and writing down as many as you can, then compare. Use the definitions on this page to attach meaning to the words you did not know, since a word with a meaning sticks far better than a string of letters. Return to the list after a few days and repeat.
Questions
How many words with y as the only vowel are there?
Our dictionary has 101 words with y as the only vowel, of which 61 are common English words. The count comes from the public-domain ENABLE list, so it can differ slightly from the dictionary a particular game uses.
What is the highest-scoring word among the words with y as the only vowel?
SYZYGY scores 25 points with classic tile values, ignoring board multipliers. The full top ten is in the quick facts above; switch the tile set on the search tool if you play with different letter values.