ZERDA is valid in Collins, not in North America — 15 points
It depends on the list you play by. ZERDA 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 15 points. Words with Friends does not accept it either.
Which word lists accept ZERDA?
| 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: 45 / 100
Our own measure of how useful ZERDA is to know. It scores 15 from 5 tiles, takes 1 hook, and its letters make up 6.4% of the bag. How this number is calculated
Hooks for ZERDA
Front hooks — 0
None.
Back hooks — 1
zerdasChecked against OSPD, TWL, CSW, WWF. Takes an S, so it hooks onto plurals easily.
How ZERDA scores
Face value of the 5 tiles in ZERDA, before any board multiplier.
Tiles you need
| Letter | Needed | In the bag |
|---|---|---|
| z | 1 | 1 |
| e | 1 | 12 |
| r | 1 | 6 |
| d | 1 | 4 |
| a | 1 | 9 |
Drawing exactly these 5 tiles as an opening rack: 1 in 29,046.
What stands out about ZERDA
- The same 5 tiles also spell 2 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 ZERDA mean in Scrabble?
noun
zoology
An older name for the fennec, a small, large-eared desert fox native to North Africa.
Zerda was used in earlier zoological writing to name what is now commonly called the fennec fox, recognised by its oversized ears and pale, sandy coat. The name reflects the animal's older scientific designation and appeared in natural history texts before fennec became the standard common name. It survives today mostly as a historical or specialist term rather than everyday vocabulary.
How ZERDA is used
Rare and largely historical; modern writing favours fennec over zerda for the same animal.
- Early naturalists catalogued the zerda alongside other desert foxes.
- The museum label still used zerda for the small desert fox.
- A zerda's ears help it lose heat in the desert sun.
- The old text described the zerda's burrowing habits in detail.
- Few modern readers recognise zerda as another name for the fennec.
Written for this site: 1 meaning of ZERDA and 5 example sentences, not copied from a published dictionary.
Anagrams of ZERDA
The 5 tiles of ZERDA in a different order — 2 found.
Words starting with ZERDA
1 longer words begin with ZERDA.
Shorter words from the letters in ZERDA
Common questions about ZERDA
- Is ZERDA valid in Words with Friends?
- No. Words with Friends keeps its own list, separate from the Scrabble dictionaries, and ZERDA is not in it.
- How many points is ZERDA worth?
- ZERDA is worth 15 points in Scrabble and 15 points in Words with Friends.
- What does ZERDA mean?
- An older name for the fennec, a small, large-eared desert fox native to North Africa.
- What letters can be added to ZERDA?
- ZERDA takes 1 hook: 0 in front and 1 at the end.
Every word you can build from the 5 letters of ZERDA:
Open ZERDA in the Word Finder