Est Word Family – Words Ending in -est, Nest to Request

All 51 words

List 1: one letter before -est (nest) 9

best Peach is the best flavor at the stand.
jest The whole riddle was told in jest.
nest A wren tucked its nest inside an old boot.
pest That mosquito is a tiny, buzzing pest.
rest Rest your elbows on the windowsill.
test Test the bathwater with one toe first.
vest His fishing vest has eleven pockets.
west Geese flew west over the grain silos.
zest Grate lemon zest over the warm muffins.

List 2: two letters before -est (chest) 5

chest The pirate chest was full of costume beads.
crest A cardinal raised its red crest.
guest Each guest signed the birthday banner.
quest The knights began a quest for the lost bell.
wrest He tried to wrest the rope from the puppy.

List 3: verbs with the stress on -est (request) 8

arrest Detectives arrest the cookie thief in the comic.
attest The muddy boots attest to a long hike.
congest Delivery trucks congest the narrow lane at noon.
detest My cats detest bath day.
digest I need a minute to digest the long chapter.
invest Gardeners invest hours in pulling weeds.
request Please request a window seat for Grandma.
suggest I suggest we picnic under the willow.

Show all 51 words (29 more)

List 4: longer nouns that end in -est (contest) 10

armrest The cat claimed the left armrest.
backrest The canoe seat has a padded backrest.
conquest The climbers cheered their conquest of the ridge.
contest Her pumpkin won the county weight contest.
footrest My sneakers barely reach the footrest.
headrest Tilt the headrest so the tall rider fits.
northwest Storm clouds rolled in from the northwest.
pretest Monday's pretest shows what we already know.
protest A polite protest saved the old oak tree.
southwest The trail bends southwest past the old well.

List 5: ends in -est, said quietly (forest) 7

dishonest Peeking at the cards would be dishonest.
earnest She made an earnest promise to practice.
forest Fog drifted between the pines of the forest.
harvest The apple harvest filled forty crates.
honest Give an honest answer, even a short one.
modest The winner gave a modest little bow.
tempest The tempest tossed kelp onto the pier.

List 6: -est added to mean most (tallest) 12

biggest He saved the biggest strawberry for last.
fastest Which snail is the fastest in the tank?
happiest The happiest dog rolls in fresh snow.
hottest August brought the hottest afternoon of our trip.
kindest Lending me your scarf was the kindest thing.
largest Pick the largest pumpkin you can carry.
longest The longest noodle stretched across the plate.
nicest That was the nicest surprise all week.
oldest The oldest oak shades half the playground.
saddest The saddest song still made us hum along.
smallest The smallest kitten has the loudest purr.
tallest The tallest sunflower leans over the gate.

How this list was compiled: Words chosen and sorted into 6 lists for Homeroom Tools. The choice, the sorting and the sentences are ours; no published list, program or workbook was opened or copied. SOUND AND SPELLING: every word was looked up on 14 October 2026 in the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q= plus the word) for the sound of its ending and for a second spelling on the headword line, and each has an English entry in Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). The dictionary writes the ending of all 32 words on Lists 1 to 4 as ĕst, with short e: the main stress on -est on List 3 (request, rĭ-kwĕst) and in northwest and southwest, and a secondary mark on it in the other words of List 4 (contest, armrest). Protest is on List 4 as the noun; the dictionary gives the verb three pronunciations, each ending in tĕst. On List 5 it writes the ending ĭst with no stress (forest, fôr-ĭst), so those seven words do not rhyme with nest; that a rhyme needs the same stressed vowel is from Wikipedia's Perfect and imperfect rhymes article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_and_imperfect_rhymes). On List 6 the spellings are the superlative forms printed in the dictionary's entries for tall, big, large, happy and the rest. It enters -est as a suffix and prints no pronunciation for it; Wiktionary writes that ending /ɪst/ or /əst/. A WORD FAMILY here is a set of words that share a rime, which Wikipedia's Phonics article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics) gives as the vowel and the consonant sounds that follow it. SOUND-ALIKES: rest and wrest, each stored on the other, and guest (guessed); the dictionary gives rest and wrest one pronunciation and guess a regular -ed form, and Wiktionary lists both pairs and writes dressed and pressed with the ending of rest. LEFT OUT: interest (said three ways, two of them with the ending of forest), blest (also spelled blessed), and three words by our choice for a list young children use. SENTENCES are ours, name no person, and none repeats a sentence in another list of this site (checked on 14 October 2026). Spellings are American. Licence: own work

How it works

Not every word spelled with -est ends in the sound of nest. Thirty-two here do, from best and chest to request. Forest ends more quietly and tallest is tall with -est added, so each kind has its own list.

Read the full guide

Est word family words in six lists

List 1 has nine words with one letter before -est: best, jest, nest, pest, rest, test, vest, west, zest. List 2 has a second letter there: chest, crest, guest, quest, wrest. List 3 is verbs such as request, suggest and invest. List 4 is longer nouns: contest, armrest, northwest. List 5 (forest, honest) and List 6 (tallest, biggest) do not rhyme with nest.

Biggest, largest, happiest: what -est does to a word

On List 6 the ending means most. The American Heritage Dictionary spells big, bigger, biggest and hot, hotter, hottest with a doubled letter, large, larger, largest with one e, and happy, happier, happiest with i for y. It lists best itself as the superlative of good.

Rest and wrest sound the same. To wrest is to pull something away with a twist; its w is silent.
Guest sounds like guessed. Dressed and pressed end the same way in another spelling.

Questions and answers

Does forest rhyme with nest?

No. The American Heritage Dictionary writes forest as (fôr-ĭst): the stress is on the first syllable and the ending has a short i. Honest, modest, harvest, earnest and tempest end the same way, so they stand on List 5.

Is the est in tallest the same as the est in nest?

No. Nest ends in a stressed short e, written (nĕst). The -est of tallest is an ending the dictionary enters on its own, used for the superlative of adjectives and adverbs; Wiktionary writes it /ɪst/ or /əst/, unstressed.

Is interest an est family word?

Only for some speakers. The dictionary gives it three ways, (ĭn-trĭst), (ĭn-tər-ĭst) and (ĭn-trĕst): the first two end like forest and the third like rest. It is on none of these lists.

Can I print est word family worksheets?

Yes. The nine words of List 1 fill one short sheet and the five of List 2 another, as a Word list, a Test sheet, an ABC order sheet or a Missing letters sheet.