c-h-e-w
CHEW means to bite and grind with the teeth, typically to break down food before swallowing. In word games, it's a versatile 4-letter word with valuable letters.
12
Points in Scrabble
Base tile values • No multipliers applied
CHEW is the act of crushing or grinding food with the teeth to prepare it for swallowing and digestion. It's one of the most fundamental human actions, essential for proper nutrition and enjoyment of food.
In word games, CHEW packs significant value into just 4 letters. The 'C' (3 points), 'H' (4 points), and 'W' (4 points) are all premium tiles, making this word worth 12 base points in Scrabble - excellent for a short word.
Strategic players love CHEW because it's easy to remember, uses common letters that often appear together, and can be extended with prefixes (ESCHEW) or suffixes (CHEWED, CHEWER, CHEWING, CHEWY) for bonus plays.
CHEW derives from the Old English "ceowan," which has Germanic roots related to the Old High German "kiuwan" and Dutch "kauwen." The word has remained remarkably stable in form and meaning for over 1,000 years, always referring to the action of masticating food.
•CHEW contains three high-value consonants (C=3, H=4, W=4) giving it exceptional points per letter
•Action verbs like CHEW are easy to remember and can be conjugated for multiple valid forms
•CHEW extends beautifully: CHEWED, CHEWER, CHEWING, CHEWY, and even ESCHEW for prefix plays
"With CHEW, I hit the W on a triple letter score - that's 12 points just for one letter!"
"CHEW is my favorite 4-letter play - those high-value consonants really rack up the points!"
QUIZ
22 pts
HAZY
19 pts
JINX
18 pts
COZY
18 pts
FOXY
17 pts
LAZY
16 pts
MAZE
15 pts
JAVA
14 pts