Many English words that finish on Z name a sound, which is one reason a reader remembers them. The rest of the words that end in Z name minerals, dances, fabrics and slang instead. Quartz and jazz are the two most people think of first, and the everyday set starts with them.
Common Words That End In Z
Quartz heads the set, being the longest word ending in Z outside a puzzle dictionary.
- Quartz: A hard crystalline mineral, and the commonest English word ending in Z.
- Jazz: A music style built on improvisation and syncopated rhythm.
- Buzz: The low humming sound of a bee or a machine.
- Fizz: The bubbling of a carbonated drink, or the sound it makes.
- Fuzz: A layer of short soft fibres, or a blurred edge.
- Quiz: A short test of knowledge.
- Waltz: A ballroom dance in three time.
- Blitz: A sudden concentrated attack or effort.
- Topaz: A yellow gemstone, and the birthstone for November.
- Hertz: The unit of frequency, one cycle per second.
- Fez: A brimless red felt hat with a flat top.
- Chintz: A printed cotton fabric with a glazed finish.
- Ersatz: Substituted for the real thing, and inferior to it.
- Klutz: A clumsy person.
- Putz: A fool, in Yiddish derived American slang.
- Ritz: Showy elegance, from the hotel of that name.
- Glitz: Superficial glamour.
- Spritz: A light spray of liquid.
- Kibbutz: A collective farming settlement in Israel.
- Schmaltz: Excessive sentimentality, from the Yiddish for chicken fat.
- Showbiz: The entertainment industry, in shortened form.
- Pizzazz: Energy and flair in a performance or a design.
- Razzmatazz: Noisy showy activity meant to impress.
- Frizz: Tight untidy curl in hair.
- Prez: A president, in shortened informal use.
- Related: Words That End In Y
Why Few English Words End In Z
Three patterns account for almost every word that ends in Z.
The doubling rule. A single stressed vowel followed by a Z sound doubles the letter at the end of a word. Buzz, fizz, jazz, fuzz and razz all follow it, alongside the same pattern in -ll, -ff and -ss.
The German and Yiddish borrowings. Blitz, waltz, quartz, ersatz, kibitz, klutz, putz and spritz each entered English with the T already attached, which is why the cluster looks foreign and is spelled the same way every time.
The bare Z. Fez came through French from Turkish, topaz through Latin from Greek. Beyond a handful of borrowings, a single final Z survives mainly in clippings such as biz, prez and viz.
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Words That End In ZZ
The doubling only happens after a single stressed vowel, which is why fuzz doubles the Z and futz does not.
| Abuzz | Bizz | Buzz | z |
| Frizz | Fuzz | Gizz | Hizz |
| Jazz | Mozz | Muzz | Pazazz |
| Pizazz | Pizzazz | Razz | |
| Razzamatazz | Razzmatazz | Rizz | Schnozz |
| Scuzz | Sizz | Swizz | Tizz |
| Whizz | Zizz |
Words That End In TZ
German and Yiddish supplied nearly all of these, and the TZ cluster keeps its spelling wherever it lands in English.
| Ansatz | Biquartz | Blintz | Blitz |
| Chalutz | Chametz | Chintz | Chometz |
| Ditz | Ersatz | Exahertz | Fritz |
| Futz | Gigahertz | Glitz | Halutz |
| Hametz | Hertz | Kibbitz | Kibbutz |
| Kibitz | Kilohertz | Klutz | Lutz |
| Megahertz | Nertz | Petahertz | Plotz |
| Putz | Quartz | Ritz | Schitz |
| Schmaltz | Schmutz | Schnitz | Shegetz |
| Shmaltz | Slivovitz | Solonetz | Spitz |
| Spritz | Terahertz | Waltz | Yutz |
Words That End In Z By Length
3 Letter Words That End In Z
Most three letter Z words are clippings. Biz shortens business, prez shortens president, and viz shortens the Latin videlicet.
| Adz | Bez | Biz | Caz | Coz |
| Cuz | Fez | Luz | Miz | |
| Moz | Poz | Rez | Riz | Saz |
| Sez | Sfz | Soz | Tiz | Viz |
| Wiz | Ziz | Zuz |
4 Letter Words That End In Z
More Z words are four letters long than any other length, and buzz, fizz, jazz, fuzz and quiz are among them. A Wordle player checks here first.
| Bizz | Buzz | Chez | Ditz | z |
| Friz | Futz | Fuzz | Geez | Gizz |
| Hizz | Jazz | Jeez | Knez | Lolz |
| Lulz | Lutz | Mozz | Muzz | Oyez |
| Phiz | Prez | Putz | Quiz | Quoz |
| Razz | Ritz | Rizz | Sizz | Swiz |
| Tizz | Whiz | Yutz | Zizz |
- Related: Words That End In X
5 Letter Words That End In Z
Topaz and waltz are the only five letter Z words in fully general use. Blitz, glitz and klutz follow them closely, and the rest run to slang or dialect.
| Abuzz | Arroz | Assez | Blitz | Kranz |
| Capiz | Fritz | Frizz | Glitz | Grosz |
| Hafiz | Hertz | Klutz | Nertz | Peepz |
| Plotz | Schiz | Scuzz | Spitz | |
| Squiz | Swizz | Topaz | Waltz | Warez |
| Whizz | Windz |
- Related: Five Letter Words Ending In Z
6 Letter Words That End In Z
Chintz, ersatz, kibitz and quartz all reached English from German, which is why the six letter band reads foreign.
| Ansatz | Blintz | Chintz | Ersatz |
| Halutz | Hametz | Kameez | Kibitz |
| Kuvasz | Pazazz | Pizazz | Quartz |
| Schitz | Schnoz | Spritz | Terfez |
7 Letter Words That End In Z
Seven letters is where the Scrabble value peaks, with schnozz at 30, kolkhoz at 27 and sovkhoz at 26 before any premium square.
| Agribiz | Amitraz | Bilharz | Chalutz |
| Chametz | Chometz | Kibbitz | Kibbutz |
| Kolkhoz | Pizzazz | Schmalz | Schmelz |
| Schmutz | Schnitz | Schnozz | Shegetz |
| Shmaltz | Showbiz | Sovkhoz |
8 Letter Words That End In Z
Exahertz is the only eight letter Z word with a current use, naming a frequency of a quintillion cycles per second.
| Biquartz | Exahertz | Schmaltz | Solonetz |
9 Letter Words That End In Z
Every nine letter word here names a frequency. Gigahertz, kilohertz, megahertz, terahertz and petahertz differ only in scale.
| Efavirenz | Gigahertz | Kilohertz |
| Krummholz | Megahertz | Petahertz |
| Slivovitz | Terahertz |
10 Letter Words That End In Z
| Razzmatazz |
11 Letter Words That End In Z
No word in English ends in Z with more letters than this one, and razzmatazz is the same word spelled one letter shorter.
| Razzamatazz |
Plurals Of Words That End In Z
A word ending in a single Z doubles the letter before -es, so quiz becomes quizzes and fez becomes fezzes. That is the same rule which produced buzz and jazz in the first place.
Words already ending in ZZ or TZ add -es without further change.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Quiz | Quizzes |
| Fez | Fezzes |
| Buzz | Buzzes |
| z | zes |
| Waltz | Waltzes |
| Blitz | Blitzes |
| Topaz | Topazes |
| Klutz | Klutzes |
Slang Words That End In Z
These are spoken English rather than written, and the register runs from playful to mildly rude. Check the note before using one in an exam or a report.
- Rizz: Charm or the ability to attract a partner. Current, and widely understood since 2023.
- Biz: Business. Long established informal shortening.
- Coz: Because, in text and chat. Also cousin in older English.
- Prez: President. Informal, mostly American.
- Scuzz: Something dirty or unpleasant. Mildly rude.
- Swizz: A swindle or a disappointment. British, dated but understood.
- Zizz: A short nap. British informal.
- Lolz: Amusement, from LOL. Internet only.
- Yutz: A fool. American, from Yiddish.
- Whiz: An expert. Fully standard, unlike the rest of this set.
Rare Words That End In Z
These survive mainly in crosswords, technical writing or older English. Adz, oyez and quoz were all in common use once.
| Adz | Bortz | Capiz | Kranz |
| Kuvasz | Nertz | Oyez | Phiz |
| Quoz | Solonetz | Squiz | Terfez |
| Wootz | Krummholz | Schnitz | Schmelz |
Proper Nouns That End In Z
None of these counts as English vocabulary, and none is playable in a word game.
| Abkhaz | Alferez | Alpheratz | Alveloz |
| Aunjetitz | Batz | Benz | Bonnaz |
| Bortz | Briz | Burkundaz | Capataz |
| Carlowitz | Commerz | Cortez | Danysz |
| Existenz | Fahlerz | Franz | Ganz |
| Gardez | Gazoz | Heinz | Helmholtz |
| Herez | Heriz | Jasz | Jemez |
| Khirghiz | Kirghiz | Kyrgyz | Laz |
| Megrez | Moniez | Namaz | Natchez |
| Nauruz | Oghuz | Paez | Peutz |
| Prausnitz | Qyrghyz | Sbrinz | Schiotz |
| Schultz | Schwarz | Shiraz | Silez |
| Slepez | Smaltz | Speltz | Suivez |
| Tabriz | Tammuz | Tamuz | Tendenz |
| Treitz | Vaquez | Wootz | Yez |
Words That End In Z With Meanings
These occur far more in print than in conversation, which is why a reader recognises them without being able to define them.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Adz | A cutting tool with an arched blade set at right angles to the handle. |
| Abuzz | Filled with activity and noise. |
| Amitraz | An insecticide used on livestock and in beehives. |
| Agribiz | The agricultural industry, in shortened form. |
| Ansatz | A trial solution assumed at the start of a mathematical problem. |
| Bilharz | Relating to bilharzia, the disease carried by freshwater snails. |
| Biz | Business, in shortened informal use. |
| Blintz | A thin filled pancake, folded and fried. |
| Bortz | Low grade diamond crushed for industrial abrasive. |
| Capiz | A translucent shell used for lampshades and windows. |
| Chalutz | A pioneer settler in early twentieth century Palestine. |
| Chametz | Leavened food forbidden during Passover. |
| Chez | At the home of, borrowed whole from French. |
| Coz | Cousin, in archaic and dialect English. |
| Ditz | A scatterbrained person. |
| Efavirenz | An antiretroviral drug used against HIV. |
| Exahertz | A frequency of one quintillion cycles per second. |
| Friz | To curl hair tightly. |
| Futz | To waste time on trivial activity. |
| Geez | An exclamation of surprise or mild irritation. |
| Gigahertz | A frequency of one billion cycles per second. |
| Grosz | A Polish coin, one hundredth of a zloty. |
| Hafiz | A Muslim who has memorised the whole Quran. |
| Halutz | A pioneer, the Hebrew form of chalutz. |
| Hametz | The Hebrew spelling of chametz. |
| Jeez | A softened exclamation, from Jesus. |
| Kameez | A long tunic worn across South Asia. |
| Kibitz | To watch a game and offer unwanted advice. |
| Kilohertz | A frequency of one thousand cycles per second. |
| Kolkhoz | A collective farm in the former Soviet Union. |
| Kranz | A ring shaped South African cake, or a cliff face. |
| Krummholz | Stunted wind shaped trees at the tree line. |
| Kuvasz | A large white Hungarian guard dog. |
| Lutz | A figure skating jump taken from the back outer edge. |
| Megahertz | A frequency of one million cycles per second. |
| Nertz | An exclamation of contempt, and a card game. |
| Oyez | A call for silence and attention in a courtroom. |
| Petahertz | A frequency of one quadrillion cycles per second. |
| Phiz | The face, in playful shortened use. |
| Pizazz | A variant spelling of pizzazz. |
| Plotz | To collapse from exhaustion or emotion. |
| Quoz | Something strange or absurd, in archaic English. |
| Razz | To tease or heckle. |
| Schmutz | Dirt or grime, from Yiddish. |
| Schnozz | The nose, in American slang. |
| Slivovitz | A dry plum brandy from central Europe. |
| Solonetz | An alkaline soil type with a dense clay layer. |
| Sovkhoz | A state owned farm in the former Soviet Union. |
| Spitz | A dog type with a pointed muzzle and curled tail. |
| Squiz | A quick look, in Australian and New Zealand use. |
| Terahertz | A frequency of one trillion cycles per second. |
| Topaz | A yellow silicate gemstone. |
| Wootz | A crucible steel from southern India, ancestor of Damascus steel. |
Related:
Z Words For Scrabble
Z scores ten points, the joint highest tile on the board, so any word ending in it starts from a strong base. Each figure is tile value before a premium square multiplies it.
| Word | Scrabble points |
|---|---|
| Schnozz | 30 |
| Kolkhoz | 27 |
| Exahertz | 27 |
| Sovkhoz | 26 |
| Kibbitz | 24 |
| Kibbutz | 24 |
| Showbiz | 24 |
| Schmalz | 23 |
| Chalutz | 21 |
| Shmaltz | 21 |
| Pizzazz | 45 |
| Schmutz | 21 |
| Schmelz | 21 |
| Schnitz | 21 |
| Quartz | 24 |
| Squiz | 23 |
| Klutz | 14 |
| Blitz | 14 |
| Waltz | 14 |
| Topaz | 16 |
Play all seven tiles for pizzazz and the score hits 45, higher than any other Z ending word manages without a premium square.
How Many Words End In Z
There are 134 English words that end in Z, running from three letters to eleven. Add surnames, place names and foreign borrowings and the figure passes 190.
Z endings stay scarce because English spelling steers away from them. Where another language would close on a single Z, English either doubles the letter or takes S instead.
FAQs
The ones you will recognise straight away are Ocean, Other, Offer, Outer, Owner, Olive, Orbit, Opera, Onion and Onset. Another fifty or so turn up in everyday reading, among them Oaken, Ochre, Otter, Ounce and Oxide.
There are 392 in total, counting every spelling a word game accepts. Around sixty of those are everyday words you would use in conversation.
The strongest is Ouija, since you test four different vowels in a single guess. Oater, Orate and Onset rank next, because each one combines O with the high frequency letters R, S, T, N and E.
Olive, Ounce, Ochre, Ozone, Oxide, Opine, Ombre, Ogive, Ovate and Ouphe are the ones you are most likely to need. Fifty four O words this length take a final E, more than any other ending.
Yes, nineteen words this length open with OO. Oomph, Oozed, Oozes, Oohed and Oojah are the ones worth remembering, and Oomph has already been a Wordle answer.
The highest is Ozzie at 23 points on tile value alone. Ozeki follows at 18 and Oxbow at 17, and all three double or triple on a premium square.
