SPAZA is valid in Collins, not in North America — 16 points
It depends on the list you play by. SPAZA 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 16 points. Words with Friends does accept it.
Which word lists accept SPAZA?
| 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: 41 / 100
Our own measure of how useful SPAZA is to know. It scores 16 from 5 tiles, takes 0 hooks, and its letters make up 5.0% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for SPAZA
No single letter turns SPAZA into another word.
How SPAZA scores
Face value of the 5 tiles in SPAZA, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| s | 1 | 4 |
| p | 1 | 2 |
| a | 2 | 9 |
| z | 1 | 1 |
Drawing exactly these 5 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 261,415.
What does SPAZA mean in Scrabble?
noun
South African
A small, informal shop, usually run from a house, that sells everyday goods in a township or residential area.
Spaza comes from township slang and is thought to trace back to a word for something hidden or low-key, since these outlets often began trading without formal registration or a shopfront sign. One family typically runs the operation from a front room or converted garage, extending credit between wage payments in a way that a supermarket chain rarely bothers with. Because banks and big retailers stay scarce in many parts of the country, spaza fills a gap left open by formal commerce, doubling as corner store and neighbourhood meeting point.
How SPAZA is used
A South African English term used mainly in the context of township life and small-scale local trade.
- She bought bread from the spaza on the corner.
- The spaza stayed open long after the big shops closed.
- He ran a spaza from the front room of his house.
- Prices at the spaza were slightly higher than at the mall.
- The township relied on several small spazas for daily needs.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of SPAZA and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Shorter words from the letters in SPAZA
Common questions about SPAZA
- Is SPAZA valid in Words with Friends?
- Yes. Words with Friends accepts SPAZA, where it scores 17 points. That game keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries.
- How many points is SPAZA worth?
- SPAZA is worth 16 points in Scrabble and 17 points in Words with Friends.
- What does SPAZA mean?
- A small, informal shop, usually run from a house, that sells everyday goods in a township or residential area.
- What letters can be added to SPAZA?
- No single letter can be added to SPAZA to make another word.
Every word you can build from the 5 letters of SPAZA:
Open SPAZA in the Word Finder