KWER-tee
QWERTY The standard keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets, named after the first six letters in the top row of letters.
Yes. QWERTY is in the Scrabble-style word list used by our tools and scores 21 points in Scrabble, 20 in Words With Friends and 21 in Wordfeud (base tile values, no board multipliers). Always check the dictionary your game uses (NWL, Collins or the WWF list) before playing.
| Letter | Q | W | E | R | T | Y | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scrabble | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 |
| Words With Friends | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| Wordfeud | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 21 |
QWERTY refers to the standard keyboard layout for Latin-script alphabets, named after the first six letters in the top row of letters. This layout was designed in the 1870s for typewriters and has persisted into the digital age despite more efficient alternatives.
The QWERTY layout was allegedly designed to slow down typing to prevent mechanical typewriter jams by separating commonly used letter pairs. However, this is debated, and some historians argue it was optimized for telegraph operators transcribing Morse code.
In word games, QWERTY is notable as one of the few common words containing both Q and Y, making it valuable for clearing difficult tiles. It's also satisfying to play as it references the very keyboard players might use for online word games.
QWERTY is an acronym formed from the first six letters of the standard typewriter keyboard's top row. The layout was patented by Christopher Sholes in 1878 for the Remington typewriter. The name 'QWERTY' itself became common in the mid-20th century as people needed to distinguish between different keyboard layouts. It's one of the few words in English that's directly derived from a spatial arrangement rather than linguistic roots.
Anagrams: no other word uses exactly the letters of QWERTY.
Hooks: no front hooks; back QWERTYS.
Words inside QWERTY: 21 shorter words can be made from these letters – highest scoring: TWYERWYTEWRYWYEYEWTREYTYERTYREWERTRYETEWTRY. See all words from QWERTY.