Words Ending With V

The List

Most common words first, then the rest A to Z.

Why So Few Words End In V

Look at HAVE, GIVE, LOVE and LIVE. Each ends in a silent E that changes nothing about the vowel in front of it. That E is there because English spelling settled on never ending a word with V, partly because U and V were once the same letter and a final V was easy to misread. The rule held for centuries, which is why the list on this page is so short.

The words that do end in V broke in from outside the rule. Most are clipped forms of longer words: REV from revolution, DEV from developer, GOV from government, DIV from dividend or division, IMPROV from improvisation, LUV from love. The rest are loanwords that kept their spelling: LEV is the currency of Bulgaria, EREV and MAZELTOV come from Hebrew, and SHIV and SPIV are old slang.

In word games the clipped forms are the useful ones. REV, DEV, DIV and LUV are three letter plays that put a 4 point V somewhere other than the end of a long word, and V is one of the hardest tiles to place because there is no two letter word that uses it. Which of these your game accepts depends on its dictionary.

Words Ending With V: What They Mean

The most familiar words on this page and what they mean. Tap any word for its full entry, score and anagrams.

• REV noun rate of revolution of a motor
• LEV noun the basic unit of money in Bulgaria
• LAV noun a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
• DERV noun diesel oil used in cars and lorries with diesel engines
• SHIV noun a knife used as a weapon
• SPIV noun a person without employment who makes money by various dubious schemes
• MAGLEV noun high-speed rail technology
• MOSHAV noun a cooperative Israeli village or settlement comprised of small farms
• LEITMOTIV noun a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas)

Definitions from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Nearby Lists

All of them: Words by ending letters.