SAMBA is a valid Scrabble word — 9 points
Yes. SAMBA is accepted by every list we check: Collins, the North American lists and Words with Friends. It scores 9 points in Scrabble and 11 in Words with Friends.
Which word lists accept SAMBA?
| 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: 41 / 100
Our own measure of how useful SAMBA is to know. It scores 9 from 5 tiles, takes 4 hooks, and its letters make up 5.2% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for SAMBA
Checked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How SAMBA scores
Face value of the 5 tiles in SAMBA, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| s | 1 | 4 |
| a | 2 | 9 |
| m | 1 | 2 |
| b | 1 | 2 |
Drawing exactly these 5 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 130,708.
What does SAMBA mean in Scrabble?
noun
music
A lively Brazilian dance with African rhythmic roots, closely associated with Carnival, along with its accompanying music.
The samba grew out of Afro-Brazilian communities in Rio de Janeiro during the early twentieth century, blending African percussion traditions with Brazilian melody. It became the defining sound and dance of Carnival, where samba schools spend months preparing elaborate parades built entirely around samba rhythm. Ballroom dancers later adapted the samba into a fast, hip-driven competition dance quite different from the street version danced during Carnival. Beyond Brazil, samba rhythms have influenced jazz, pop, and countless other musical styles.
How SAMBA is used
Samba is used both for Brazilian street and Carnival tradition and for the formal ballroom dance derived from it.
- Drummers filled the street with a driving samba beat.
- The dancers moved to the samba in bright Carnival costumes.
- She took weekly lessons to improve her samba technique.
- Rio's samba schools rehearse all year for the Carnival parade.
- A samba band opened the festival with an energetic set.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of SAMBA and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Words starting with SAMBA
7 longer words begin with SAMBA.
Words ending in SAMBA
1 words end in SAMBA. Useful as a back hook: play SAMBA onto a word already on the board.
Words with SAMBA inside
1 words contain SAMBA in the middle. Words that start with SAMBA are listed separately above, so nothing is repeated.
Shorter words from the letters in SAMBA
Common questions about SAMBA
- Is SAMBA valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts SAMBA, where it scores 11 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is SAMBA worth?
- SAMBA is worth 9 points in Scrabble and 11 points in Words with Friends.
- What does SAMBA mean?
- A lively Brazilian dance with African rhythmic roots, closely associated with Carnival, along with its accompanying music.
- What letters can be added to SAMBA?
- SAMBA takes 4 hooks: 1 in front and 3 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 5 letters of SAMBA:
Open SAMBA in the Word Finder