MOLECULE The smallest unit of a chemical compound; two or more atoms bonded together retaining the compound's properties. Scores {gameData[selectedGame as keyof typeof gameData].points} base points in word games.
Yes. MOLECULE is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 12 points in Scrabble, 17 in Words With Friends and 14 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | M | O | L | E | C | U | L | E | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 |
| Words With Friends | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| Wordfeud | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 |
Molecules are nature's architects, constructing everything from water's simple H₂O to DNA's billion-atom spirals. These atomic assemblies represent the frontier where physics becomes chemistry—where individual atoms lose their identity to create entirely new substances with emergent properties. A single water molecule behaves nothing like hydrogen or oxygen gases, demonstrating how molecular bonds create the magic of transformation that makes life possible.
The molecular world operates by rules both elegant and bizarre. Covalent bonds share electrons between atoms; ionic bonds transfer them completely; hydrogen bonds create water's unusual properties; van der Waals forces hold geckos to walls. Molecular shapes determine function: proteins fold into precise configurations, lock-and-key enzyme specificity enables metabolism, and DNA's double helix stores genetic information. Small changes—a single atom's position—can transform medicine into poison, as with thalidomide's tragic mirror-image forms.
Modern molecular science enables miracles. Pharmaceutical chemists design molecules to precisely target disease pathways. Materials scientists create polymers with programmable properties. Nanotechnology manipulates individual molecules to build molecular machines—the 2016 Nobel Prize recognized molecular motors 1000 times smaller than a human hair. From photosynthesis converting light to sugar to CRISPR editing genetic molecules, understanding molecular behavior unlocks nature's deepest secrets.
MOLECULE derives from Modern Latin "molecula," diminutive of Latin "moles" (mass), literally meaning "small mass." French scientist Pierre Gassendi coined the term in 1620 to describe the smallest particles that retained a substance's properties. The word gained scientific precision through Avogadro's hypothesis (1811) distinguishing molecules from atoms. Before standardization, scientists used various terms: "compound atoms," "integral molecules," and "physical atoms." The modern definition crystallized in the 1860s as chemistry matured, establishing molecules as distinct entities composed of bonded atoms.
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of MOLECULE.
Hooks: no front hooks; back MOLECULES.
Words inside MOLECULE: 50 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: COLUMELCLEOMECELOMLOCUMCOMECOULEECULMLOCULECELLOCUMMOCOLEUM. See all words from MOLECULE.