If you have a clue that you simply cannot solve on your own, Crossword Solver is a helpful tool. All you need to do is input the clue and whatever information you have. The search results will give you the most likely answer for your puzzle.
For over a century, crossword puzzles have been a favorite pastime for those who love words. While many people enjoy the feeling of accomplishment that comes with solving a difficult clue, others walk away from the puzzle in frustration.
What is a Crossword Puzzle?
For some people, the first thing they do when they get a newspaper or magazine is turn to the crossword. A crossword puzzle is a specially-designed grid with spaces for vertical and horizontal words. Each open square in the puzzle is the space for a letter.
Along with the grid, there is a list of clues that will help you identify the words in the puzzle. The numbers of the clues correspond to numbered squares in the puzzle grid. Because the words intersect, solving a vertical clue will give you letters to help you solve a horizontal clue.
A Brief History of the Crossword
The crossword puzzle was briefly known as the “Word-cross.” This was the name when it first appeared in The New York World newspaper in 1913. A few weeks later, an error by a typesetter reversed the words, but the “Crossword” label is the one that stuck.
The popularity of the crossword rose and fell a few times during the ensuing decades. Some critics labeled the puzzles as a waste of time. Yet, there were always puzzlers who both wanted to design and solve these challenges.
In the late 1990s, the internet began to drive readership from newspapers and magazines. As a result, crossword puzzle designers were looking for online options for their work. Today, those who love word games can find several apps for a daily crossword fix. Many newspaper publishers make their puzzle available online. You can find links to some of these in the Crossword Finder section. There are online resources available that allow you to design your own crossword puzzle. Teachers enjoy creating these kinds of puzzles as a way to teach new vocabulary terms.
Types of Crossword Puzzles
Because the crossword puzzle has been around for so long, several variations on the standard format have appeared. The different types of puzzles vary in difficulty and style.
Jumble
The jumble puzzle often has a small crossword element as its first step. By solving the crossword clues, you are given a set of letters that you then unscramble for the final solution.
Cryptic Crossword
This English variation on the standard crossword is far more difficult than a standard crossword. The clues of a cryptic puzzle are more challenging and unclear. For example, this type of puzzle is more likely to use anagrams or other creative wordplays.
Themed Crosswords
This kind of crossword is especially popular in magazines. The crossword clues may include definitions that refer back to content in the periodical.
Secret Phrase
In this variation, a large part of the puzzle is taken up by a long, secret phrase. By solving the regular clues, you will eventually have enough vowels and consonants to solve the longer riddle.
Crossword Clues
A challenging crossword clue is part of the fun of solving these puzzles, but it may also be the reason that you may need crossword help. If you choose a puzzle at an easy level, you may find that the answers to the clues are obvious. However, most crossword puzzle designers create clues that are meant to be a challenge.
In most puzzles, a winning strategy is to read through all the clues. To get you started, the puzzle designer almost always includes clues that do not require too much thought. This will help you fill in a few squares and make the next round of clue-solving a little easier.
As you solve more puzzles, you will become familiar with some common words and clues that help with puzzle design. For example, «obi» is the answer to the clue, «A Japanese belt.» This word shows up frequently because it is a short word that starts and ends with a vowel, making it perfect as a connecting word in the grid.
How to Use Crossword Solver
Our crossword help tool makes it easy to find the answer to vexing clues.
1. When you land on the page, you will see two rows of input areas. In the first row, input the crossword clue you are trying to solve.
2. In the second area, you can choose to input the letters you know using question marks for blank spaces, or you can just submit the length of the word.
3. When you press Search, you will receive a list of possible answers based on your information. The program accesses a database of the most common crossword puzzle answers that fit your description.
For example, if your clue is “Nonsense,” and you know it is a 10-letter word that starts with T, there is a 95% chance that it is either triviality or tomfoolery.
FAQs on Crossword Clues:
Which clues should you start with?
Starting with the simplest clues will help you fill your grid. Fill-in-the-blank clues are often the easiest because they use common names and phrases. As you do more puzzles, you will also see that designers reuse clues for common connecting words like EAR, ALE and ERE.
How do you interpret clues?
Clues in a basic crossword puzzle follow rules to help you solve them. For example, the tense of the clue is a hint about the tense of the answer. The answer to a clue like “Used to hurry” will be RAN and not RUN. In more advanced puzzles, you will need to think outside the box as the puzzle designer may use wordplay to increase the challenge.
What are the most uncommon clues?
Crossword puzzles are designed for many different publications. A book of crossword puzzles designed for extended use will use evergreen clues that will be relevant for many years. A weekly newspaper crossword or daily puzzle may have references to current events or popular figures. Clues such as these have a limited shelf life, but they make the puzzles more interesting.
Feedback
Crossword Help, Clues & Answers
Struggling to get that one last answer to a perplexing clue?
We can help you solve those tricky clues in your crossword puzzle.
Search thousands of crossword puzzle answers on Dictionary.com.
Crossword is a word puzzle made up of black and white squares known as grid. The white squares form horizontal rows or vertical columns in which you have to fill words based on clues given. Once it starts filling up, the puzzles becomes more and more interesting. The benefit of a Crossword is that it can be played with pen and paper only using your mind. The First Crossword Puzzle was published in the year 1913 in the New York World.
It was invented by Arthur Wynn an who was an American Journalist. Crosswords generally gets published in Newspapers and magazines. Nowadays, they are also played.
One do not need to be an expert to start playing Crossword. Anyone can dive into and start playing from Day 1 this beautiful designed, easy to play but hard to master game. This is very addictive Word game and can be played online or offline. Here are some tips to become a pro Crossword solver if you want.
Crossword Solver
Love solving those word puzzles? I enjoy crosswords and while I make sure that I do not miss on the newspaper crossword till date, I also keep checking on the new games online or on my smartphone. Crossword solvers are simply addictive and are known to improve mental functions.
There are people taking on a crossword puzzle in the morning newspaper as soon as it is in. So, while they take it as a fun and hobby, some imbibe this game in their daily schedule to boost brain health. Studies suggest that crossword indeed benefits your brain by working on your brain cells.
Here’s a quick rundown on crossword solvers giving you an insight into what is, what are it benefits, interesting facts, top games and more.
What is a Crossword Solver?
It’s a popular word puzzle game that’s made of black and white empty grids. There are a few questions listed below the crossword box that has some empty spaces. You have to guess those missing words and fill in the white blocks with letters (forming a word or phrase) based on the clues.
These are the answers of the questions listed below. You have to fill in the answers from left to right or from top to bottom based on the listed instructions. The shaded black blocks are designed to distance the word or phrases. This helps you to understand how long a word or a phrase will be in the answer.
Different Types of Crossword Puzzles
Every country has their style of crossword solvers. The crossword grids in North America include majority of solid white squares. The shaded/black squares are usually restricted to nearly one-sixth of the total blocks. Every letter in the grid is checked (a portion of both across and down word). Each answer contains a minimum of three letters.
In other countries like Britain, India, Australia, and South Africa, the crossword resembles a lattice with more shaded black blocks that is, close to 25%. Here, half the letters in the answers are left unchecked. The Japanese crossword on the other hand, works on two added rules:
1 — Shaded blocks may not share a side
2 -the corner blocks must be white.
The Swedish crosswords feature no clue numbers because the clues are inside the cells that do not have the answers. The arrows will guide you if the answer would be in vertical or horizontal direction.
Again, there are different variants of the crosswords, mostly in two common forms – “barred”, with bold lines between the blocks to separate the answers, and circular, offering space for answers either in radial form or concentric circles. The one seen on the school worksheets are the “free-form” crosswords for an easier approach. These feature simple and asymmetric designs. Grids in other shapes apart from squares are also occasionally seen.
Puzzles can be of different sizes. For example, 15X15 for weekday newspapers, while 21×21, 23×23, or 25×25 for weekend puzzles. Some newspaper bodies like the New York Times have a set pattern for crosswords that is, they increase the difficulty with each day starting from Monday.
Different Types of Clues
Orthography
It’s the process of arranging the proper letters in the correct order to form a meaningful word in English Language.
Straight
The Straight or Quick clues are actually the simple interpretations of the answers. Some of the features may also include anagrams that are generally exceptionally described.
Themes
Themes consisting of a number of long entries sharing some connection, sort of puns or other common elements are see in many American puzzles.
Indirect
These are wordplays that are to be taken symbolically or in a sense other than the real meaning. This requires lateral thinking.
Cryptic
The clues here are the puzzles in themselves. A clue in a cryptic crossword, usually consists of a definition at the beginning or towards the end of the clue and the wordplay, that offers a technique to generate the word suggested by the definition, and that may not have a logical definition.
Metapuzzles
It’s a second puzzle designed within a completed puzzle. Once the main crossword puzzle is solved successfully, the result becomes the foundation of a second puzzle.
Quantum Puzzles
Some of the puzzle squares in quantum puzzles feature more than one correct answer for the same set of clues.
First Entries
This is usually seen in newspapers like The Daily Telegraph where the first few words are converted to a complete phrase.
Double Clue Lists
These are related to crosswords that feature one grid but can be completed by solving either of the two lists of clues that is, either using straight or cryptic clues.
Other Types
Cross-references are a part of any type of puzzles. Here, the answer to one clue leads to a portion of another clue where it is indicated by number and direction.
What are the benefits of Playing Crossword Puzzles?
While playing crossword solvers is fun and challenging, they have their own health benefits. It’s more of a brain exercise that contributes to the overall growth and development of an individual.
Crossword puzzles are a perfect way to indulge your brain in a stimulating activity that forces you to think out of the box and improves your analyzation power. Bonus – it keeps you mentally fit and fine. In fact, there are many more benefits that crosswords can provide.
Refines your Vocabulary
According to research, working on crossword solvers daily improves your vocabulary and therefore, verbal skills significantly. The puzzles motivate your brain to grasp several clues and identify new words on a daily basis. This further enhances your vocabulary and getting a hold on new words.
Helps you Relax
Crosswords are interesting and captivating. The manner in which it engages people in racking the brains surely works as a great stress reliever as people get so involved in the world of words. This helps them forget the mayhem around at least for while.
Improves Cognitive and Analytical Skills
Crossword solvers work as a simulator for your brain while improving your cognitive and analytical efficiency by encouraging them to focus on getting a hold on the clues smoothly.
Improves Memory
With a boost in your cognitive and analytical skills, your memory is automatically sharpened and enhanced.
Prevents Dementia
The aim of the puzzles is to keep your brains sharp and well-functioning with your growing age. To keep off dementia, the Alzheimer’s Association suggests solving crossword puzzles as a habit.
Exercise Problem Solving
Crossword puzzles offer a great way to exercise problem solving thereby, improving your problem-solving skills.
Learn to view patterns
Finding patterns is a practice that gives a shape to our lives. Patterns help you understand how different things are linked and form the basis of math and science. One of the major health benefit of solving crosswords is that they are a wonderful way to exercise the pattern detecting muscles in an individual.
Lose yourself
It allows to lose yourself for a while as you are solving the puzzle, or to be precise, lets you find your flow. It’s one form of meditation that destresses you by spending a few minutes each day solving crossword puzzles.
Trivia fan
Crosswords are great entertainers for the trivia fans. These are trivia solitaire that can prove to be great conversation starters.
Priceless fun
It’s the aha moment bringing you the elated feeling once you have solved the puzzle that matters the most. Being able to solve the crossword is the happiest moment which is priceless. Overall, crossword solvers are plain, simple, and priceless fun.
Interesting Facts About Crossword Solvers
- — There’s a beguiling history behind crosswords. We are sharing a few of the interesting facts here related to this famous puzzle game.
- — Crossword experts are termed as “cruciverbalists”.
- — The world’s first crossword puzzle was reportedly created by Arthur Wynne which was published in the New York World back in December 1913.
- — Crossword solvers were prohibited in Paris during World War II to prevent in secret messages to be passed on to the enemies.
- — The biggest ever crossword was 7X7 (feet) featuring 91,000 squares and 28,000 clues/hints and which was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
- — The Times Crossword solver was issues in 1930.
- — Alfred Mosher Butts, an architect, designed a board game in the 1930s that was based on the concept of crossword puzzle. This was an extremely popular past time at that time and which later became popular as Scrabble.
- — Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament is the oldest crossword solver competition in the world that started in 1978.
- — Nonogram is the name of the Japanese crossword puzzle and is called as “paint by numbers”. It’s not based on the concept of filling in world clues.
- — Stanley Newman is known to fill a New York Times Crossword in record time held in 1996. It’s the fastest till date. He completed it in 2mins 14 secs.
- — The word square puzzles were discovered in the Pompeii ruins.
- — The book “Cleutopia” written by David Astle in 2013 is great read that narrates the first 100 years of the crossword solver game.
- — 21st December, 2018 will be celebrated as the National Crossword Day.
Top Crossword Apps for Android and iOS
Almost every one has a smartphone these days and so, apart from just solving them on the newspaper dailies and in the magazines, downloading a crossword solver app on the mobile platform is perhaps the easiest these days. Simply download your favourite game and start playing. Let’s see the best crossword apps for Android and iOS.
Crosswords – It includes more than 2300 word puzzles in six different languages across the world. Bonus – 180 puzzles are available to play for free. The game comes along with its own keyboard, scrolls smoothly around the puzzle, option to check errors, option to solve a word or a letter, and so on.
Crossword Light – Comes with 40 free puzzles and also an option to upgrade. It features an easy to use interface, a detailed leader board and offers a huge number of tips along with access to website. There’s a wide choice of crossword puzzles in full version.
*Also for iOS
Crossword Puzzle – You get access to thousands of crossword puzzles for free at each level that you can play on your smartphone or tablet. Search Google for help, seeing elapsed time, hide/show mistakes, etc. are few of the key features of this game. It also allows you to customize your settings like view your rankings compared to others for each puzzle, show timers, lock scree orientation, auto downloading puzzles for each day, and more.
Crossword US – It’s a grid-based crossword puzzle where in, each letter falls 2 tips based on each other (down and across). You must complete all 480 levels. You get free access to 48 puzzles and if you wish, you can upgrade it to the paid version for 8 packages of crossword. The keyboard comes in different colors and has 3 vision options. There are some unique added features like jumping letters, grey shading, etc. You also have the opportunity to view the key.
*Also on iOS
Word Search Puzzle – This game is pretty addictive as it lets you play many fascinating words of your selection. From Hollywood, Music, or Personalities to Kids, Places or Dictionaries, it offers several categories to choose from.
Crossword solvers are fun addictive and good for your brain health. So, start solving those word puzzles today and stay ahead in brain power!
-
Title:
-
Instructions:
-
These word search puzzles were made here! -
Our MOST ASKED QUESTION:
How do I make multi-word entries?
Colorado Springs
I Have a Dream
United States, etc.
It’s simple! Click the video —>
-
Make «Hidden Message» Word Searches!
Watch our video to learn how you can create a puzzle inside of a puzzle, commonly called a Hidden Message Word Search puzzle!Please SUBSCRIBE to our
- Do you want UPPERCASE or lowercase? We’ve always had that ability! It is in the blue menu after making the puzzle under «Advanced Options…» we have LOTS of options in that menu. We get asked everyday for options that are already there! Don’t cheat yourself out of the perfect puzzle by not looking for it in the blue menu on the left.
-
Rows
(10-50)
-
Columns
(10-50)
- Grid styles
- Language
- Word Placement
-
Show Grid Lines
Yes
No -
Place Word List:
Hide word list
Sort word list alphabetically
- # of columns for word list if ‘Bottom’ list is chosen above.
- TIP: Use the «Fun Options» for neat options like:
1. Hide «WordSearchPuzzle» but show «Word Search Puzzle» in the word list! and
2. Hide «SantaClaus» but show «Who visits on Christmas?»
Watch the video below for more fun tips!
Choose up to 3 fonts + Arial (default)
Check out our «Fun Options» video, then click the button below!
I understand that by clicking «Fun Options» below, it will lock out my word list above to further changes, and saving options will be unavailable.
Fun Options
This Crossword Word Finder will take a clue and an optional answer pattern to help you solve your Crossword Puzzle.
You can use wildcards to make the pattern.. i.e. G??? for a 4 letter word starting with G
ENTER CROSSWORD CLUE
ENTER PATTERN
Advertisements:
Advertisements:
Recent Crossword Clues and Puzzle Answers
Clue
Answer
Aussie marsupials
WOMBATS
Upward-flowing plant vessels
XYLEM
Monument Valley sights
MESAS
Lunch container, for some
PAIL
TV’s Dr. Frasier___
CRANE
How Does This Crossword Puzzle Solver Work?
Our Crossword Puzzle Solver is simple on purpose, so you can quickly solve tricky crossword puzzle clues and move on. Just enter the clues and an optional pattern, and we will do the rest!
We include the answers to clues from all major publications, such as the LA Times, The NY Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Daily Celebrity.
How do you Solve Crossword Puzzles?
Although our English Crossword Puzzle Search makes it easy, here are a few tips if you want to solve it yourself:
Tips for Solving Crosswords:
- Always work in pencil. You will most likely need to erase a lot!
- Think about the theme you are working with. The crossword puzzle’s title usually relates to at least some of the crossword clues.
- Start with the fill in the blank crossword clues first. Usually, they are the easiest to solve, and they give hints on how to fill out the rest of your crossword puzzle.
- Go for the short words first. Short words are a lot easier and help you gain extra clues on longer word answers.
- Check for plurals. Often you may have the correct answer but in the singular form. Always check to see if the plural form fits.
- Ask around for help. Ask people you know, who knows; they might know the answer right away.
- Relax! It’s all in fun.
How do you Solve Cryptic Crosswords?
Need more crossword help? Our puzzle solver also works on cryptic crossword puzzles & general knowledge crosswords.
- Read the clue forwards and backward
- Think about the clue as a whole
- Count the number of letters.
- Cryptic crosswords are a lot harder to solve, so be patient and don’t forget to tap outside resources