5-Letter Words Starting With D and Ending in L

There are 16 five-letter words starting with D and ending in L, and 9 of them are words you would expect to see in everyday writing. The rest are technical terms, plurals, variant spellings and the odd loanword, all of which are legal in most tile games. The highest-scoring entry is DEVEL at 9 points. Scan the common words first, then dip into the rare ones when the board leaves you no other option.

How to use this page

This page works as both a reference and a tool. As a reference, it lists every word that start with D and end in L, sorted by familiarity. As a tool, it accepts your own letters in the search box and returns the subset you can play, with scores. The related links at the end cover neighbouring letters and lengths.

Tips

A blank tile is the most powerful piece on your rack because it stands in for any letter. When you search this list with a blank, the tool underlines the letter the blank replaced so you know which tile to lay down. Spend a blank only when it unlocks a long word or a premium square; using it for a three-letter play is almost always a waste. If you hold two blanks, look for a word from this list that needs both, because a seven-tile play with the bonus outscores nearly everything else.

Questions

Which five-letter words starting with D and ending in L are the most common?

DEVIL, DRILL and DRAWL are among the most familiar. The list is sorted with everyday words first, and the very common ones carry a small dot, so you can read the top of the page and skip the obscure entries at the bottom.

Can I search this list with my own letters?

Yes. Type your letters into the search box at the top of the page, using a question mark for a blank, and the tool will show only the five-letter words starting with D and ending in L you can actually spell from that rack, with scores.