TWL vs SOWPODS: Which Scrabble Dictionary Should You Use?

If you’ve ever played a word confidently, only to have an opponent challenge it and win, there’s a good chance you were playing under the wrong dictionary for your region. TWL and SOWPODS are the two most widely used Scrabble word lists, and they don’t always agree.

What is TWL?

TWL (Tournament Word List) is the official word list used for Scrabble play in the United States, Canada and Thailand. It’s maintained by NASPA (the North American Scrabble Players Association) and its current edition is NWL2023 (NASPA Word List 2023), which evolved from the earlier OTCWL list.

Key characteristics of TWL:

• Uses American spellings — COLOR is valid, COLOUR is not.
• Considered stricter, with fewer total valid words than SOWPODS.
• Excludes many British-only spellings and slang terms.
• NWL2023 specifically removed a number of offensive slurs that existed in older editions.

What is SOWPODS?

SOWPODS, also known as Collins Scrabble Words (CSW), is the international dictionary used across the UK, Australia, Africa, and most of the rest of the world outside North America. The name SOWPODS is itself a portmanteau — an old acronym referencing the combination of two historical word lists.

Key characteristics of SOWPODS:

• A significantly larger word list than TWL, combining British and American vocabulary.
• Includes many short, obscure words that TWL rejects — for example, ZO (a type of yak hybrid) is valid in SOWPODS but not in TWL.
• Generally considered to give players more scoring flexibility because of its broader vocabulary.

Side-by-side comparison

Feature	TWL (NWL2023)	SOWPODS (Collins)
Region	USA, Canada, Thailand	UK, Australia, Africa, international
Governing body	NASPA	Collins/WESPA
Word count	Smaller	Larger
Spelling style	American	British + American combined
Example of divergence	“ZO” not valid	“ZO” valid

Which one should you use?

• Playing in North America or Thailand, especially in a club or tournament? Use TWL/NWL2023.
• Playing in the UK, Australia, Africa, or in most international online lobbies? Use SOWPODS.
• Playing Words with Friends? Neither — that app uses its own ENABLE word list, which has its own unique inclusions and exclusions.
• Playing casually with friends and unsure? Agree on a dictionary before the game starts to avoid disputes mid-play.

How to check instantly

Rather than memorizing which list allows which word, the fastest approach is to check as you play. Our Scrabble Dictionary validates any word against all four major lists at once — TWL, SOWPODS, NWL2023 and ENABLE — so you can instantly see exactly which rulesets accept your word before you commit to a challenge. If you’re stuck building a word from your rack, the Word Finder can also search within a specific dictionary using prefix, suffix, length and wildcard filters.