The 4 letter words with definitions, separated alphabetically.
Now updated for CSW24. New words, if any, and new inflections of existing words, are shown in red.
| iamb | A poetic foot consisting of a short then a long syllable > IAMBS. |
| ibex | A wild mountain-goat > IBEXES or IBICES. |
| ibis | Any of a group of gregarious wading birds of warm and tropical climates > IBISES. |
| iced | (Pt.) ICE, to cool with ice. |
| icer | A person who makes or applies icing > ICERS. |
| ices | (3rd.) ICE, to cool with ice. |
| ichs | (3rd.) ICH, to eke, augment. |
| icks | (Pl.) ICK, something sticky or disgusting. |
| icky | Repulsive > ICKIER, ICKIEST; ICKILY. |
| icon | A religious carving of a saint etc > ICONS or ICONES. Also EIKON, IKON. |
| idea | A conception existing in the mind > IDEAS, IDEAED. |
| idee | (Fr.) idea > IDEES. |
| idem | (Lat.) the same; the same as above. |
| ides | (Lat.) in the ancient Roman calendar, the eighth day after the nones, i.e. the 15th of March, May, July, October, and the 13th of the other months. |
| idle | Unoccupied > IDLER, IDLEST; IDLY; (verb) to be unoccupied > IDLES, IDLING, IDLED. |
| idly | (Adv.) IDLE, unoccupied. |
| idol | An object of worship > IDOLS. |
| idyl | A short description in verse or prose of a picturesque scene or incident, esp. in rustic life > IDYLS. Also IDYLL. |
| iffy | (Coll.) dodgy, chancy > IFFIER, IFFIEST. |
| igad | (Arch.) a mild oath. Also ECOD, EGAD, EGADS. |
| iggs | (3rd.) IGG, to ignore, snub. |
| iglu | (Inuit) a snow house > IGLUS. [Inupiaq iglu, house]. Also IGLOO. |
| ikan | (Malay) fish esp in names of cooked dishes e.g. assam ikan > IKANS. |
| ikat | (Malay) a technique of dyeing yarn and tying it, thus giving geometric patterns > IKATS. [Malay ikat, to tie, fasten]. |
| ikon | A religious carving of a saint etc > IKONS. Also ICON, EIKON. |
| ilea | (Pl.) ILEUM, the anterior or superior bone of the pelvis. |
| ilex | (Lat.) the holm oak > ILEXES or ILICES. |
| ilia | (Pl.) ILIUM, the anterior or superior bone of the pelvis. |
| ilka | (Scots) every. |
| ilks | (Pl.) ILK, a type or kind. |
| ills | (Pl.) ILL, harm. |
| illy | (Adv.) ILL, bad. |
| imam | (Arabic) the officer who leads the devotions in a mosque > IMAMS. Also IMAUM. |
| imid | A class of organic compounds formed from ammonia > IMIDS. Also IMIDE. |
| imma | (contr) (short for) I am going to. |
| immy | A type of playing marble > IMMIES. |
| impi | (Zulu) a regiment of Zulu warriors > IMPIS or IMPIES. |
| imps | (3rd.) IMP, to graft, to splice a falcon's broken feathers. |
| inby | (Scots) towards the interior, by the house. Also INBYE. |
| inch | The twelfth part of a foot, equal to 2.54cm; (verb) to move by slow degrees > INCHES, INCHING, INCHED. |
| indy | (n) (short for) independence. |
| info | (Abbr.) information > INFOS. |
| ingo | (Scots) entry into or taking on a new tenancy > INGOES. |
| ings | (Pl.) ING, a meadow, esp one beside a river. |
| inia | (Pl.) INION, the external occipital protuberance. |
| inks | (3rd.) INK, to colour with ink. |
| inky | Like ink > INKIER, INKIEST. |
| inly | Inwardly; thoroughly. |
| inns | (3rd.) INN, to put up at an inn. |
| inro | (Japanese) a small container for pills and medicines > INRO. No -S. |
| inti | (Quechua) the standard monetary unit of Peru, equal to 100 céntimos > INTIS. [Sp. f. Quechua ynti sun, the Inca sun god]. |
| into | To the inside of. |
| ints | (vf) INT, in online gaming, to deliberately lose to an opponent. |
| ions | (Pl.) ION, an atom that has an electrical charge, by virtue of having gained or lost electrons. |
| iota | (Greek) a Greek letter > IOTAS. |
| ired | (Pt.) IRE, to anger. |
| ires | (3rd.) IRE, to anger. |
| irid | Any plant of the IRIS family > IRIDS. |
| iris | (Noun) part of the eye > IRISES or IRIDES. (Verb) to give the form of a rainbow to > IRISES, IRISING, IRISED. |
| irks | (3rd.) IRK, to annoy or weary. |
| iron | To furnish with iron (a metallic element) > IRONS, IRONING, IRONED. |
| isba | (Russian) a Russian log hut > ISBAS. |
| isit | (S. Afr.) an expression used in response to a statement, sometimes to seek confirmation but often merely to show that one is listening. |
| isle | (Verb) to make an isle of > ISLES, ISLING, ISLED. |
| isms | (Pl.) ISM, any distinctive theory or fad. |
| isna | (Scots) is not. Also ISNAE. |
| isos | (Pl.) ISO, an isolated replay, a TV and film facility. |
| itas | (Pl.) ITA, the miriti palm. |
| itch | To have an uneasy or tingling skin sensation > ITCHES, ITCHING, ITCHED. |
| item | (Verb) to enumerate, to make a note of > ITEMS, ITEMING, ITEMED. |
| iure | (Lat.) by right or law. Also JURE. |
| iwis | (Arch.) certainly. [From I wis, i.e. I know]. Also YWIS. |
| ixia | A S. African shrub > IXIAS. [Gk. ixos, mistletoe]. |
| izar | (Arabic) a long cotton outer garment (usually white) worn by Muslim women > IZARS. |