Yes. NE is a valid word.
NE is valid in the North American word list used for the Scrabble board game and other crossword tile games.
NE 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 NE
Wedding and family announcements once used née or ne to give a person's original name. In play, NE is a quiet word that hooks into NEB, NEE, NET and NEW.
Settle the next one at the table: score your game free in Tileside →
NE scores 2 points
Before any bonus squares: N 1 + E 1 = 2. On a double-word square that's 4, on a triple-word 6, and every letter bonus under one of these tiles is applied first.
Example: NE as the first play
Later in the game, put the N on a 3L square and NE is worth 4 before any word bonus.
Hooks: one tile makes a new word
After NE (5):
Place that one tile so it also forms a word in the other direction and both words score.
Longer words from NE
Words that start with NE:
- NEAPa less than average tide occurring at the first and third quarters of the moon
- NEARnot far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
- NEATclean or organized
- NEBSform of NEB: a long projecting or anterior elongation of an animal's head
- NECKthe part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
- NEEDrequire as useful, just, or proper
- NEEMlarge semi-evergreen tree of the East Indies
- NEEP
Change one tile
Swap any one letter of NE and these are still words:
Same letters, other words
Memory tip
NE means born with the name of, as in a family name before marriage. Reverse it for EN.
On these lists
Other two-letter words starting with N
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.