Use this tool when you know the length of a crossword answer and some of its letters but not all. Type the word pattern using * (or ?) for each letter you don’t know — for example, *pple returns apple, c*os*w*rd returns crossword, and t**n returns teen, thin, than, and many more.

The word length is determined automatically from the length of the pattern you type, so a five-character pattern only returns five-letter words. Results are drawn from a general English dictionary of around 370,000 words, with optional Scrabble dictionaries available in the Options panel.

Tip: use the ⚙ Options button to enable “Include proper nouns” if your crossword answer is likely a name or place.