Yes. JAY is a valid word.
JAY is valid in the North American word list used for the Scrabble board game and other crossword tile games.
JAY is in the NASPA Word List 2023 (NWL2023), the North American list that Tileside uses for challenges and the one used in club and tournament play.
About JAY
JAY is a noisy, colorful bird of the crow family, like the blue jay, and the name of the letter J; its plural is JAYS. With the J and the 4-point Y it is worth 13 before bonuses. JAY is also a good home for a Y, a tile that has only a handful of two-letter words.
Settle the next one at the table: score your game free in Tileside →
JAY scores 13 points
Before any bonus squares: J 8 + A 1 + Y 4 = 13. On a double-word square that's 26, on a triple-word 39, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.
Example: JAY as the first play
Later in the game, put the J on a 3L square and JAY is worth 29 before any word bonus.
Hooks: one tile makes a new word
After JAY (1):
- JAYSform of JAY: crested largely blue bird
Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.
Longer words from JAY
Other forms of JAY (1):
- JAYSform of JAY: crested largely blue bird
Words that start with JAY:
- JAYGEE
- JAYVEE
- JAYBIRDcommon jay of eastern North America
- JAYGEES
- JAYVEES
- JAYWALKcross the road at a red light
- JAYBIRDSform of JAYBIRD: common jay of eastern North America
- JAYWALKSform of JAYWALK: cross the road at a red light
Show 4 more wordsShow fewer
- JAYHAWKER
- JAYWALKEDform of JAYWALK: cross the road at a red light
- JAYWALKERa reckless pedestrian who crosses a street illegally
- JAYHAWKERS
Change one tile
Swap any one letter of JAY and these are still words:
- BAYan indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
- CAYa coral reef off the southern coast of Florida
- DAYtime for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
- FAYa small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
- GAYbright and pleasant
- HAYgrass mowed and cured for use as fodder
- KAY
- LAYform of LIE: be located or situated somewhere
Same letters, other words
Memory tip
JAY is a noisy bird, like the blue jay. It also names the letter J, spelled out.
On these lists
Check words at the table, free
Tileside keeps score, checks words like this one during a challenge, tracks the tiles left in the bag and times turns. It runs in your phone's browser with no account and works offline.
Tileside checks words against the North American list, the NASPA Word List 2023. Your group's chosen dictionary always wins.
Word list: NASPA Word List 2023, used under license. NASPA Word List 2023 Edition © NASPA 2023. The copy included in this app is licensed for personal use. You may not use it for any commercial purposes.
Works with the Scrabble board game, played at the table. Tileside is an independent product, not affiliated with or endorsed by the makers of Scrabble.