Scrabble Words Without Vowels

From CWM to PSST: the words that let you play a rack of consonants, with counts from our own word list.

By the Unscramble AU Editorial Team · Sydney · Updated 30 September 2026

Scrabble players are often told to keep a balance of vowels and consonants. Yet the Collins-based word list used by Unscramble AU contains 175 words with none of the vowels A, E, I, O or U. That is a handy escape route when your rack is full of consonants, and a source of some of the more surprising plays in the game.

These words fall into three groups: words that lean on the letter Y, interjections and sounds, and a few borrowings from Welsh. This guide sets out all three, using counts taken directly from our 267,751-word list.

The numbers

Category	Count in our word list
Words with no A, E, I, O or U	175
… of which use Y as their only vowel	148
Words with no A, E, I, O, U or Y	27
Two-letter words in this group	10 (BY, CH, FY, HM, KY, MM, MY, NY, SH, ST)
Three-letter words in this group	41
Four-letter words in this group	47
Five letters or longer	77

Words with no vowels and no Y at all

These are the strangest words in the list. Every one of the 27 is made only of consonants:

BRR
BRRR
CH
CRWTH
CRWTHS
CWM
CWMS
CWTCH
HM
HMM
MM
NTH
PFFT
PHPHT
PHT
PSST
PST
SH
SHH
ST
TSK
TSKS
TSKTSK
TSKTSKS
TWP
ZZZ
ZZZS

Most of these are interjections and sounds (BRR, HMM, PSST, TSK, ZZZ, SH), and a handful come from Welsh (CWM, CRWTH, CWTCH). NTH is a mathematical shorthand that has made its way into the dictionary. Since none of them contains a vowel, they can be played on almost any rack, including one with nothing but consonants.

Meanings worth knowing

The words below are among the ones you are most likely to use or to face across the board. Their meanings were checked against published dictionaries.

Word	Meaning
CWM	a bowl-shaped valley in a mountain, also called a cirque (from Welsh)
CRWTH	an ancient Celtic bowed stringed instrument (from Welsh)
HWYL	emotional fervour, especially in speech (from Welsh)
NTH	an indefinitely large ordinal number, as in "to the nth degree"
PSST	a quiet interjection used to get someone's attention
TSK	a clicking sound of disapproval
BRR	an exclamation of feeling cold
ZZZ	the sound of snoring or sleep
HMM	an interjection of thinking or hesitation
SH	an interjection demanding quiet
PFFT	an interjection for something fizzling out
SYZYGY	the near-straight-line alignment of three celestial bodies
RHYTHM	a regular recurring pattern of beats or movement
NYMPH	a nature goddess in myth, or an immature insect
LYNX	a short-tailed wildcat with tufted ears
GLYPH	a symbolic character or carved figure
TRYST	a secret meeting, especially between lovers
PYX	a container for the Eucharist or for sample coins
XYST	a covered portico or garden walk
SPHYNX	a hairless breed of cat

Three-letter words without vowels

The three-letter group is the most practical, because these fit into small gaps:

The Y-only words

When Y is counted as a vowel, we get many more words. The longest in our list is GLYCYLS (7 letters). Other favourites include SYZYGY, RHYTHM, NYMPH, LYNX, GLYPH and TRYST. Words with several high-value consonants score well. For example, SPHYNX is worth 21 points on tile values alone.

The full list of 148 Y-only words is below.

BY
BYRL
BYRLS
BYS
CHYND
CLY
CRY
CRYPT
CRYPTS
CYST
CYSTS
DRY
DRYLY
DRYS
FLY
FLYBY
FLYBYS
FLYSCH
FRY
FY
FYRD
FYRDS
GHYLL
GHYLLS
GLYCYL
GLYCYLS
GLYPH
GLYPHS
GRYPT
GYM
GYMP
GYMPS
GYMS
GYNNY
GYNY
GYP
GYPPY
GYPS
GYPSY
HWYL
HWYLS
HYMN
HYMNS
HYP
HYPS
JYNX
KY
KYDST
KYND
KYNDS
LYCH
LYM
LYMPH
LYMPHS
LYMS
LYNCH
LYNX
MY
MYC
MYCS
MYRRH
MYRRHS
MYTH
MYTHS
MYTHY
NY
NYMPH
NYMPHLY
NYMPHS
NYS
PLY
PRY
PRYS
PSYCH
PSYCHS
PYGMY
PYX
RHY
RHYTHM
RHYTHMS
RYND
RYNDS
SCRY
SHY
SHYLY
SKRY
SKY
SKYF
SKYFS
SKYR
SKYRS
SLY
SLYLY
SNY
SPHYNX
SPRY
SPRYLY
SPY
STY
STYMY
SWY
SYLPH
SYLPHS
SYLPHY
SYN
SYNC
SYNCH
SYNCHS
SYNCS
SYND
SYNDS
SYNTH
SYNTHS
SYPH
SYPHS
SYZYGY
THY
THYMY
TRY
TRYP
TRYPS
TRYST
TRYSTS
TYG
TYGS
TYMP
TYMPS
TYND
TYPP
TYPPS
TYPY
VLY
WHY
WHYS
WRY
WRYLY
WYCH
WYN
WYND
WYNDS
WYNN
WYNNS
WYNS
XYLYL
XYLYLS
XYST
XYSTS
YMPT

Newer editions of Collins Scrabble Words may add or remove entries. If you rely on one of these words in a tournament, confirm it against the current official list.

When to use them

Rack full of consonants

With a rack like C W M S T R Y, the words CWM and CRWTH give you outs you would not otherwise see. Type your letters into Unscramble AU and it will show every valid word your tiles make.

Board with no vowels available

Late in a game, vowels can run out. A word like TSK, NTH or SH can be played when the bag is empty and the board is tight.

Challenges

Opponents often challenge unusual words. Knowing that TSK, PST and BRR are all valid can save you from an incorrect challenge.