OU is valid in Collins, not in North America — 2 points
It depends on the list you play by. OU is in Collins, used in the UK and most of the world, but it is not in the North American lists — so in a US or Canadian game an opponent can challenge it off the board. Worth 2 points. Words with Friends does accept it.
Which word lists accept OU?
| Official Scrabble Players DictionaryUSA, Canada, Thailand | Not listed |
|---|---|
| Official Tournament and Club Word ListUSA, Canada, Thailand | Not listed |
| Collins Scrabble WordsEnglish in most countries | Valid |
| Words with FriendsZynga word list | Valid |
Word power: 49 / 100
Our own measure of how useful OU is to know. It scores 2 from 2 tiles, takes 11 hooks, and its letters make up 6.0% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for OU
Checked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How OU scores
Face value of the 2 tiles in OU, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| o | 1 | 8 |
| u | 1 | 4 |
Drawing exactly these 2 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 155.
What stands out about OU
- OU is one of just 133 words of 2 letters in the four lists we check — a short list worth knowing by heart.
Counted from the four word lists we hold, not taken from anywhere else. How we calculate things
What does OU mean in Scrabble?
noun
A man or fellow. Common in South African English.
How OU is used
- The ou at the counter knew exactly what we needed.
- Ask that ou by the door.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of OU and 2 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Words starting with OU
Showing 24 of 1882 words that begin with OU.
Words ending in OU
Showing 24 of 49 words that end in OU. Useful as a back hook: play OU onto a word already on the board.
Words with OU inside
Showing 24 of 11017 words that contain OU somewhere in the middle. Words that start with OU are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Common questions about OU
- Is OU valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts OU, where it scores 3 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is OU worth?
- OU is worth 2 points in Scrabble and 3 points in Words with Friends.
- What does OU mean?
- A man or fellow. Common in South African English.
- What letters can be added to OU?
- OU takes 11 hooks: 5 in front and 6 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 2 letters of OU:
Open OU in the Word Finder