ALUM is a valid Scrabble word — 6 points
Yes. ALUM is accepted by every list we check: Collins, the North American lists and Words with Friends. It scores 6 points in Scrabble and 9 in Words with Friends.
Which word lists accept ALUM?
| Official Scrabble Players DictionaryUSA, Canada, Thailand | Valid |
|---|---|
| Official Tournament and Club Word ListUSA, Canada, Thailand | Valid |
| Collins Scrabble WordsEnglish in most countries | Valid |
| Words with FriendsZynga word list | Valid |
Word power: 28 / 100
Our own measure of how useful ALUM is to know. It scores 6 from 4 tiles, takes 1 hook, and its letters make up 4.8% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for ALUM
Front hooks — 0
None.
Back hooks — 1
alumsChecked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How ALUM scores
Face value of the 4 tiles in ALUM, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| a | 1 | 9 |
| l | 1 | 4 |
| u | 1 | 4 |
| m | 1 | 2 |
Drawing exactly these 4 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 13,615.
What stands out about ALUM
- The same 4 tiles also spell 2 other words, so the rack is worth re-reading before you play it.
Counted from the four word lists we hold, not taken from anywhere else. How we calculate things
What does ALUM mean in Scrabble?
noun
chemistryNorth Americaninformal
A colourless crystalline compound of aluminium and potassium sulphate, used in dyeing, tanning, and water purification; informally, a former student of a school or college.
Alum has two quite separate lives in English. In chemistry it names a double sulphate salt long used to fix dyes into cloth and to clarify water. In casual North American speech, alum is also a short way of saying alumnus or alumna, letting a school or university refer to a graduate without specifying gender.
How ALUM is used
The chemistry sense is neutral and technical; the graduate sense is informal and mainly North American.
- The recipe called for a pinch of alum to keep the pickles crisp.
- Tanners once used alum to prepare animal hides for dyeing.
- She returned to campus as a proud alum of the class of 2010.
- The university newsletter features a story about a famous alum.
- Alum crystals form naturally near some hot springs.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of ALUM and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Anagrams of ALUM
The 4 tiles of ALUM in a different order — 2 found.
Words starting with ALUM
Showing 24 of 42 words that begin with ALUM.
Words ending in ALUM
5 words end in ALUM. Useful as a back hook: play ALUM onto a word already on the board.
Words with ALUM inside
Showing 24 of 41 words that contain ALUM somewhere in the middle. Words that start with ALUM are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Shorter words from the letters in ALUM
Common questions about ALUM
- Is ALUM valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts ALUM, where it scores 9 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is ALUM worth?
- ALUM is worth 6 points in Scrabble and 9 points in Words with Friends.
- What does ALUM mean?
- A colourless crystalline compound of aluminium and potassium sulphate, used in dyeing, tanning, and water purification; informally, a former student of a school or college.
- What letters can be added to ALUM?
- ALUM takes 1 hook: 0 in front and 1 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 4 letters of ALUM:
Open ALUM in the Word Finder