POAKA is valid in Collins, not in North America — 11 points
It depends on the list you play by. POAKA 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 11 points. Words with Friends does not accept it either.
Which word lists accept POAKA?
| 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 | Not listed |
Word power: 37 / 100
Our own measure of how useful POAKA is to know. It scores 11 from 5 tiles, takes 1 hook, and its letters make up 5.8% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for POAKA
Front hooks — 0
None.
Back hooks — 1
poakasChecked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How POAKA scores
Face value of the 5 tiles in POAKA, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| p | 1 | 2 |
| o | 1 | 8 |
| a | 2 | 9 |
| k | 1 | 1 |
Drawing exactly these 5 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 130,708.
What does POAKA mean in Scrabble?
noun
New Zealand
A black-and-white wading bird of New Zealand, the pied stilt, known by its Maori name.
Poaka comes from Maori and names the pied stilt, a long-legged wading bird common around New Zealand estuaries and wetlands. English speakers in New Zealand use poaka alongside the English name pied stilt, and both terms refer to the same bird. The word keeps its Maori spelling rather than being anglicised further.
How POAKA is used
Used in New Zealand English; poaka and pied stilt name the same bird.
- A poaka waded through the shallow estuary at dawn.
- The Maori name poaka is used alongside pied stilt in New Zealand.
- Several poaka nested along the riverbank that spring.
- Birdwatchers spotted a poaka among the wading birds.
- The poaka's black and white markings make it easy to identify.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of POAKA and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Words starting with POAKA
1 longer words begin with POAKA.
Shorter words from the letters in POAKA
Common questions about POAKA
- Is POAKA valid in Words with Friends?
- No. Words with Friends keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries, and POAKA is not in it.
- How many points is POAKA worth?
- POAKA is worth 11 points in Scrabble and 12 points in Words with Friends.
- What does POAKA mean?
- A black-and-white wading bird of New Zealand, the pied stilt, known by its Maori name.
- What letters can be added to POAKA?
- POAKA takes 1 hook: 0 in front and 1 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 5 letters of POAKA:
Open POAKA in the Word Finder