Yes. MIAOU is a valid word.
MIAOU is valid in the North American word list used for the Scrabble board game and other crossword tile games.
MIAOU 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 MIAOU
MIAOU is a spelling of a cat's meow, alongside MEOW, MEOU and MIAOW, and it works as a verb too. With four vowels, I, A, O and U, and just one M, MIAOU is one of the best vowel dumps in the list. Picture a cat saying it slowly: mee-ah-oo, every vowel stretched out. British writers often prefer this spelling, and it can be a verb too: the cat miaoued at the door. Cats probably don't care how we spell it, but the word list accepts many versions.
Settle the next one at the table: score your game free in Tileside →
MIAOU scores 7 points
Before any bonus squares: M 3 + I 1 + A 1 + O 1 + U 1 = 7. On a double-word square that's 14, on a triple-word 21, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.
Example: MIAOU as the first play
Later in the game, put the M on a 3L square and MIAOU is worth 13 before any word bonus.
Hooks: one tile makes a new word
After MIAOU (1):
- MIAOUSform of MIAOU: the sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.
Longer words from MIAOU
Change one tile
Swap any one letter of MIAOU and these are still words:
- MIAOWthe sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
Same letters, other words
No other word in the list uses exactly the letters M, I, A, O and U.
Add one tile: words from these letters plus one more
MIAOU + S
- MIAOUSform of MIAOU: the sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
Memory tip
MIAOU is a spelling of a cat's meow. Four vowels and one M.
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.