You’re staring at a rack of tiles. It’s a mess of vowels and high-value consonants, and for some reason, your brain just keeps looping back to the same three basic words. We’ve all been there. Finding 5 letter words starting with lau isn’t just about being a walking dictionary; it’s about knowing which words actually exist in the competitive lexicon and which ones are just "dictionary fluff" that you'll never use. Honestly, most people just think of "laugh" and then their brain hits a brick wall.
It’s annoying.
But here’s the thing about the English language—it’s a bit of a kleptomaniac. It steals from Latin, Old French, and even German. When you look at words beginning with these three specific letters, you’re looking at a weird mix of botany, textile history, and pure phonetics. Some of these are absolute goldmines for Wordle or Scrabble, while others are so obscure they’ll make your opponent call for a rulebook.
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The Heavy Hitters You Actually Know
Let's get the obvious ones out of the way first. You have laugh. It’s the king of this category. It uses a "gh" which is a nightmare in some games but a blessing in others. Then there’s laura. Now, wait. Is "laura" a legal play? In most standard Scrabble dictionaries (like the NASSCU or the Merriam-Webster Scrabble Dictionary), proper nouns are a big no-no. However, if you’re playing a casual game or a specific word-search variant, it pops up constantly.
Then we have lauds. This is a great word. It means to praise. It’s a verb, but it also refers to a specific type of morning prayer in the Christian tradition. If you’re stuck with an "s" and need to extend a play, "lauds" is your best friend. It’s efficient. It’s clean. It uses common letters that help you clear your rack without leaving you with a "Q" or a "Z" hanging around like an uninvited guest at a party.
What about laugh again? People underestimate it because it’s common. But in Wordle, that "u-g-h" ending is a specialized pattern. If you get the "lau" part right but miss the tail end, you’re looking at a lot of wasted guesses.
The Weird Ones: Laurel, Laura, and Lauff
The word laurel is perhaps the most "classic" of the bunch. It’s got that leafy, academic vibe. Historically, it’s what they put on the heads of winners in ancient Greece. In modern gaming, it’s a solid five-letter choice because it uses the "l" twice. That’s a double-edged sword. If "l" is a green tile, you’re golden. If not, you’ve just wasted two slots.
Now, let's talk about lauan.
Have you ever heard of it? Most people haven't unless they spend a lot of time in a hardware store or a woodshop. Lauan is a type of plywood or Philippine mahogany. It’s a technical term, but it is 100% legal in professional word games. It’s a "vowel dump." If you have too many "a"s and "u"s, "lauan" is your escape hatch.
Then there is lauks. This one feels like a typo. It’s actually a British dialect variant, often used as an exclamation (like "Lawks!"). While it’s rare, it’s one of those "pocket words" that experts keep in their back pocket to tilt their opponents. It’s legal in the SOWPODS (the international Scrabble word list) but might get you some side-eye in a living room in Ohio.
Why These Words Matter for Wordle and Beyond
Wordle changed everything. It turned us all into amateur linguists at 7:00 AM. When you’re hunting for 5 letter words starting with lau, you’re usually in a high-pressure situation. You know the start, but the end is a mystery.
The letter "u" is the tricky part here. In English, "u" is usually a teammate for "q," but in the "lau" construction, it stands on its own. This changes the vowel frequency of your guesses. If you guess "laura" (even if it's not legal in Scrabble, it's often in Wordle's database) or "lauds," you are testing the "u" in the third position. That’s a high-value data point.
- laugh - Common, but the "gh" is a risky test.
- lauds - Perfect for testing the "s" suffix.
- laurel - Good for testing "e" and "r" placements.
- lauan - The ultimate vowel-heavy niche play.
- lauks - High risk, high reward with the "k."
There’s also laund. It’s an archaic word for a glade or an open space among woods. You won't hear it on the news, and you won't find it in a TikTok caption, but it’s in the dictionary. It’s the ancestor of the word "lawn." Using it makes you look like a Victorian poet or someone who spends way too much time reading Middle English. Either way, it counts.
Navigating the "L" and "U" Vowel Trap
The transition from "l" to "a" to "u" is phonetically smooth, but it’s a trap for casual players. They see "lau" and immediately think "launch."
Wait.
Launch is six letters.
This is the most common mistake people make when searching for these specific five-letter strings. They get so caught up in the sound that they forget to count the characters. You cannot use "launch" in a five-letter game. You have to settle for something else. This is where laura (if allowed) or lauds comes back into play.
Basically, you’re looking at a very small pool. English doesn't have a ton of words that start this way. Unlike "tra" or "sta," which have dozens of variations, the "lau" prefix is relatively exclusive. This is actually an advantage. If you can memorize the five or six viable options, you have effectively "solved" that branch of the word tree.
The Strategy of the "Lau" Opening
If you’re a serious gamer, you aren't just looking for a word; you're looking for information. Using laurel as a second or third guess is a brilliant tactical move. It checks for the "l" in two different spots. It checks the "a" and "u" and "e." These are high-frequency vowels.
Kinda makes you realize how much math is hidden in these little squares, doesn't it?
Most people play by gut feeling. They think, "Oh, 'laugh' sounds right." But an expert looks at the board and thinks, "I need to eliminate the 'r' and the 'd,' so I’ll play 'lauds' or 'laurel'."
It’s about narrowing the field.
Linguistic Roots: Why "Lau" is So Rare
The "lau" start often comes from the Latin laudare (to praise) or laurus (the laurel tree). Because these roots are so specific, they didn't branch out into a million different everyday words like the Germanic roots did. That’s why the list is short.
There is also laurae, which is the plural of laura (in the sense of a monastery or a group of cells for hermits). It’s an incredibly niche word. If you play "laurae" on a Scrabble board, you are basically declaring war. It’s a move that says, "I have read the entire dictionary and I am not afraid to use it."
Putting It Into Practice
If you want to actually win your next game or solve that Wordle in three tries instead of five, you need a plan for when "l-a-u" shows up. Don't panic and try to make "launch" work. It won't.
Instead, look at your remaining letters.
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Do you have an "s"? Go with lauds.
Do you have an "r"? Try laurel.
Are you desperate to dump vowels? Lauan is your best bet.
Is it a common word game like Wordle? Laugh is statistically the most likely answer.
Honestly, the "lau" words are like the utility players on a baseball team. They aren't the superstars, and they don't get the big headlines, but they do the dirty work that keeps the game moving. Knowing them gives you a subtle edge that most players just don't have. They’re stuck trying to remember if "laura" is a name or a thing, while you’re already dropping "lauds" and moving on to the next round.
Your Next Steps for Word Mastery
Stop trying to memorize the whole dictionary. It’s a waste of time. Instead, focus on these high-probability clusters.
- Audit your "S" usage: Always check if a 4-letter word you know can be turned into a 5-letter word by adding an "s" (like "laud" to "lauds").
- Check the rules: Before you play, know if your game allows archaic words like "laund" or dialect words like "lauks."
- Practice the "Vowel Dump": Use "lauan" in a practice game today. It’s a hard word to remember because it’s so specific, but once it’s in your brain, it stays there.
- Watch the count: Never forget that "launch" and "laurel" are different lengths. It sounds stupid, but under the clock, it’s the most frequent error people make.
Focusing on these specific 5 letter words starting with lau won't just help you win one game; it’ll change how you look at the structure of words entirely. You’ll start seeing the Latin roots and the vowel patterns instead of just a jumble of letters. That’s the difference between a casual player and someone who actually knows what they’re doing.