3 letter words
There are 500 3 letter words in this list, most common first. Filter by letters.
No words match that filter.
The most-used 3 letter words, and what they mean
These are the 14 that come up most often in written English, so they are the ones worth knowing first.
- for
- nounInitialism of Fellowship of Reconciliation, any of a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries.
- are
- noun(rare) An accepted (but deprecated and rarely used) metric unit of area equal to 100 square metres, or a former unit of approximately the same extent. Symbol: a.
- one
- nounThe digit or figure 1.
- she
- nounA female.
- and
- noun(music, often informal) In rhythm, the second half of a divided beat.
- all
- adverb(intensifier, sometimes childish) Wholly; entirely; completely; totally.
- new
- adjectiveRecently made, or created.
- see
- verb(transitive) To perceive or detect someone or something with the eyes, or as if by sight.
- now
- adverbAt the present time.
- the
- adverb(with a superlative adjective) Beyond all others.
- own
- adjectiveBelonging to; possessed; acquired; proper to; property of; titled to; held in one's name; under/using the name of. Often marks a possessive determiner as…
- out
- adverbAway from the inside or centre.
- day
- nounA period of time equal or almost equal to a full day-night cycle, being 24 hours long.
- too
- adverb(degree) To an excessive degree, more than enough indicates that the degree of a quality is more than what is needed or wanted.
Nouns, verbs and adjectives
Of the 500 words in this list, 495 can be used as a noun, including for, are, one, she, and. Plenty of words do more than one job: state is a noun, a verb and an adjective depending on how you use it, which is why these numbers add up to more than the list itself.
How this list is built
The words come from the Datamuse language API, then get cleaned up, because the raw output is not much use on its own. Each word is checked against an English dictionary, with a frequency floor for anything not in it, so ordinary inflections survive while noise does not. Roman numerals, fragments and vowel-less abbreviations are stripped out.
What is left is ranked by how often each word actually appears in written English. That ordering is the point: it puts the words you might actually want at the top. The full method is on how we build these.
Common questions
How many 3 letter words are there?
This list holds 500, filtered to real dictionary words and ranked by how common they are. English has more if you count obscure and archaic ones, but they are little use to anybody.
Can a 3 letter word be a noun?
Yes. 495 of the 500 words on this list can be used as a noun. The breakdown above shows how many work as verbs, adjectives and adverbs too.
How are the words ordered?
By how often each word appears in written English, most common first, so the useful ones are at the top rather than buried under rarities. See how we build these.
Can I search inside the list?
Yes. The filter box narrows the list as you type, and where a list mixes lengths there are buttons to show only words of a given length.