TWL vs SOWPODS: Which Scrabble Dictionary Should You Use?

One of the most common frustrations in Scrabble is not knowing which words are valid. A word that gets challenged in a North American club may be perfectly fine in London or Sydney. The answer always comes down to one question: which dictionary are you using? This guide explains the key differences between TWL (used in North America) and Collins SOWPODS (used in the UK, Australia, and internationally), and helps you choose the right one for your game.

A Brief History of Scrabble Dictionaries

Scrabble was invented by Alfred Mosher Butts in the 1930s. Hasbro sold it in North America and Mattel sold it internationally. Because they ran their businesses separately for decades, each region ended up with its own official word list.

In North America, the main word list is the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (OSPD), later updated as the Tournament Word List (TWL). NASPA maintains it. In the UK and internationally, a separate list called SOWPODS was created by merging the British Scrabble word list with OSPD. It is now published by Collins as the Collins Scrabble Words (CSW) list.

Key Differences: Words Valid in One but Not the Other

The key difference is that SOWPODS has around 93,000 words that TWL does not.

Most of these are British English words, terms from other Commonwealth countries, and words used in international English.

Meanwhile, a small number of words in TWL are not in SOWPODS due to edition differences and regional exclusions.

Which Dictionary Should You Use?

The answer depends entirely on where and how you play:

• United States or Canada, casual or club play: Use TWL. This is the standard across North American Scrabble clubs, the North American Scrabble Open, and the National Scrabble Championship.
• United Kingdom: Use Collins SOWPODS (CSW). The Association of British Scrabble Players (ABSP) and all UK tournaments use Collins.
• Australia or New Zealand: Use Collins SOWPODS. Scrabble Australia and Scrabble New Zealand both use the Collins standard.
• International tournaments (WESPA events): Use Collins SOWPODS. The World English-language Scrabble Players Association governs all international events using Collins.
• Online games (Words With Friends): WWF uses its own dictionary, the Enhanced North American Benchmark Lexicon (ENABLE), which differs from both TWL and SOWPODS.

Spelling Variations and Regional Differences

Beyond word inclusion, the dictionaries differ in how they handle regional spelling variants. British English consistently uses -OU- in words like COLOUR, HONOUR, LABOUR, and HUMOUR. These -OU- spellings are not valid in TWL because they are not standard American English. Similarly, British -RE endings (CENTRE, THEATRE) and -ISE verb forms (REALISE, ORGANISE) are SOWPODS-valid but TWL-invalid.

Australian English follows British rules. SOWPODS also adds many Australian words. Collins adds these because it publishes the Macquarie Dictionary, Australia's key English reference. For example, YAKKA (hard work) is valid in SOWPODS but not in TWL.

How Unscramble Words Pro Handles Both Dictionaries

Our word unscrambler uses the ENABLE word list plus the dwyl English corpus. Together they cover over 370,000 words. When you enter letters, you see every word valid in at least one major dictionary. The tool detects your region and shows which words apply to your game. You can always see the full combined list.

Our pre-built pages — like Unscramble STRANGE, Unscramble EASTERN, and Unscramble PLASTER — all use the ENABLE dictionary. ENABLE covers the core words in both TWL and SOWPODS. This means results are valid no matter which country you play in.

Continue reading: Scrabble Strategy Guide • Best Wordle Starting Words • Complete Two-Letter Words Guide