BALSA is a valid Scrabble word — 7 points
Yes. BALSA is accepted by every list we check: Collins, the North American lists and Words with Friends. It scores 7 points in Scrabble and 9 in Words with Friends.
Which word lists accept BALSA?
| 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: 33 / 100
Our own measure of how useful BALSA is to know. It scores 7 from 5 tiles, takes 2 hooks, and its letters make up 5.6% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for BALSA
Checked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How BALSA scores
Face value of the 5 tiles in BALSA, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| b | 1 | 2 |
| a | 2 | 9 |
| l | 1 | 4 |
| s | 1 | 4 |
Drawing exactly these 5 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 65,354.
What stands out about BALSA
- The same 5 tiles also spell 5 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 BALSA mean in Scrabble?
noun
An extremely lightweight, low-density wood from a fast-growing tropical tree native to Central and South America.
Balsa wood grows remarkably fast for a tree with usable timber, sometimes reaching harvestable size within a decade, and its cellular structure traps enough air to make it far lighter than almost any other commercial wood. Model makers rely on balsa to build airplane and ship models that need to be strong for their weight, while manufacturers use it in surfboards, rafts, and as a lightweight core material in boat hulls and wind turbine blades. The tree itself, most often called by the same name, was also used by indigenous peoples of South America to build the rafts that gave balsa wood its long association with seafaring.
How BALSA is used
A common word in hobby, craft, and construction contexts wherever a very light but workable wood is needed.
- He carved the wings of the model plane from balsa.
- Balsa rafts once carried early explorers along the Pacific coast.
- The surfboard's core was made of balsa rather than foam.
- Balsa grows quickly enough to be harvested within a few years.
- Despite its light weight, balsa can still support a surprising load.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of BALSA and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Anagrams of BALSA
The 5 tiles of BALSA in a different order — 5 found.
Words starting with BALSA
15 longer words begin with BALSA.
Words with BALSA inside
4 words contain BALSA in the middle. Words that start with BALSA are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Shorter words from the letters in BALSA
Common questions about BALSA
- Is BALSA valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts BALSA, where it scores 9 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is BALSA worth?
- BALSA is worth 7 points in Scrabble and 9 points in Words with Friends.
- What does BALSA mean?
- An extremely lightweight, low-density wood from a fast-growing tropical tree native to Central and South America.
- What letters can be added to BALSA?
- BALSA takes 2 hooks: 0 in front and 2 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 5 letters of BALSA:
Open BALSA in the Word Finder