Only in Collins.
KO is valid in the international Collins list used for crossword tile games outside North America, but not in the North American list.
KO is valid in the international Collins list but not in the NASPA Word List 2023, the North American list. If your group plays with the Collins toggle on, it counts; otherwise it can be challenged off the board.
About KO
The ko is a Maori digging stick, used for planting and tending crops. Gardeners in New Zealand still use the word for a traditional wooden digging tool, once used to break up soil for planting kumara, the sweet potato.
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KO scores 6 points
Before any bonus squares: K 5 + O 1 = 6. On a double-word square that's 12, on a triple-word 18, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.
Example: KO as the first play
Later in the game, put the K on a 3L square and KO is worth 16 before any word bonus.
Hooks: one tile makes a new word
After KO (6):
Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.
Longer words from KO
Words that start with KO:
Change one tile
Swap any one letter of KO and these are still words:
Same letters, other words
These use exactly the letters of KO:
- OKokay; all right
Add one tile: words from these letters plus one more
KO + B
- KOBan orange-brown antelope of southeast Africa
KO + E
KO + P
KO + R
- KORan ancient Hebrew unit of capacity equal to 10 baths or 10 ephahs
KO + S
- KOS(in India) a unit of length having different values in different localities
KO + W
- WOKpan with a convex bottom
KO + Y
Memory tip
KO is a Maori digging stick. It is valid only in the Collins list, and its plural is KOS.
On these lists
Other two-letter words starting with K
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. Playing the international (Collins) list? Turn on its 20 extra two-letter words in Setup.
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.