Yes. ZOEA is a valid word.
ZOEA is valid in the North American word list used for the Scrabble board game and other crossword tile games.
ZOEA 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 ZOEA
ZOEA is an early larval stage of crabs and some other crustaceans, a tiny swimming creature with long spines; its plurals are ZOEAE and ZOEAS. It is a wonderful play: the 10-point Z goes down with an O, an E and an A. If you have the Z and too many vowels, look for ZOEA first.
Settle the next one at the table: score your game free in Tileside →
ZOEA scores 13 points
Before any bonus squares: Z 10 + O 1 + E 1 + A 1 = 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: ZOEA as the first play
Later in the game, put the Z on a 3L square and ZOEA is worth 33 before any word bonus.
Hooks: one tile makes a new word
Longer words from ZOEA
Change one tile
Same letters, other words
No other word in the list uses exactly the letters Z, O, E and A.
Memory tip
ZOEA is a tiny larva of crabs and shrimp. Its plurals are ZOEAE and ZOEAS.
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.