Tool to find a word by patterns, word search either to solve a substitution, or to solve a crossword-like game.
Word Pattern Search - dCode
Tag(s) : Word Search
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Word Pattern Search
Word Search with Pattern
Answers to Questions (FAQ)
What is a word pattern search? (Definition)
Searching by word pattern is an ambiguous notion, dCode offers 2 modes:
— (1) Desubstitution: the pattern of letters describes a mono-alphabetic substitution.
Example: The ABBA pattern allows you to find all the 4-letter words having the first letter identical to the last letter and a pair of 2 identical letters in the middle (but different from the first and last letter and not necessarily an A or a B'), like the word NOON.
Example: The pattern -A-A- indicates a word of 5 letters with the 2nd and the 4th identical letter (not necessarily an A) the other letters (- = unknown) can be any letter. Words like COCOA or SEVEN match the pattern.
— (2) Crosswords: the letter pattern describes the state of a Crossword
Example: The pattern -E-E-E indicates a 6 letter word with an E in 2nd, 4th and 6th position (such as DELETE, SEVERE, etc.)
How to search for a word ciphered using mono-alphabetical substitution?
From a cipher word (idiomorph), the unsubstitution consists in analyzing the distribution of the letters and especially the position of the repeated letters. Long words (from 9-10 letters) have a rather unique fingerprint.
Example: The pattern LWZLMOMWMOGF can correspond to the word SUBSTITUTION
This approach only works for monoalphabetic substitutions and for an existing word in the dictionary.
How to search for a word using known letters positions?
From the position of certain letters in a word, a dictionary search is possible. This is typically intended for lovers of crosswords (players or makers) and similar word games.
Example: The pattern -N-G-A- may lead to the word 'ANAGRAM'
Source code
dCode retains ownership of the "Word Pattern Search" source code. Any algorithm for the "Word Pattern Search" algorithm, applet or snippet or script (converter, solver, encryption / decryption, encoding / decoding, ciphering / deciphering, breaker, translator), or any "Word Pattern Search" functions (calculate, convert, solve, decrypt / encrypt, decipher / cipher, decode / encode, translate) written in any informatic language (Python, Java, PHP, C#, Javascript, Matlab, etc.) or any database download or API access for "Word Pattern Search" or any other element are not public (except explicit open source licence like Creative Commons). Same with the download for offline use on PC, mobile, tablet, iPhone or Android app.
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Cite dCode
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In a scientific article or book, the recommended bibliographic citation is: Word Pattern Search on dCode.fr [online website], retrieved on 2025-04-16,
