Louisiana Word Search Printable

A 16-word Louisiana puzzle with Baton Rouge, Bayou, Gumbo and Jazz; press New puzzle to change it, then print.

Name Date

Louisiana Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

RDNYPBEIGNETNFT

UNSAXALDUDODNEO

ORIRATABMMKPUFN

IIUOUOFSBAEKOLL

WEOAUNAAOGEIMES

IHMVIRYAANONIUR

OOANROECTOLGSRG

IBREWUTAELTCSDY

RADESGTDSIEAIEG

ZYIFSEEIPACKSLS

NOGDMHJAZZZESII

HURNGEBNRPARISH

HNALLIGATORSPAL

ADSPELICANCDPPB

EPONTCHARTRAINN

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

Baton RougeBATON ROUGE
LafayetteLAFAYETTE
ParishPARISH
AcadianaACADIANA
MississippiMISSISSIPPI
BayouBAYOU
PontchartrainPONTCHARTRAIN
GumboGUMBO
BeignetBEIGNET
King CakeKING CAKE
JazzJAZZ
Mardi GrasMARDI GRAS
PelicanPELICAN
MagnoliaMAGNOLIA
AlligatorALLIGATOR
Fleur-de-lisFLEUR-DE-LIS

16 of 29 words from the Louisiana Favorites list.

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Easy: words go across and down.

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Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

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Answer key: Louisiana Word Search

RDNYPBEIGNETNFT

UNSAXALDUDODNEO

ORIRATABMMKPUFN

IIUOUOFSBAEKOLL

WEOAUNAAOGEIMES

IHMVIRYAANONIUR

OOANROECTOLGSRG

IBREWUTAELTCSDY

RADESGTDSIEAIEG

ZYIFSEEIPACKSLS

NOGDMHJAZZZESII

HURNGEBNRPARISH

HNALLIGATORSPAL

ADSPELICANCDPPB

EPONTCHARTRAINN

BATON ROUGE, LAFAYETTE, PARISH, ACADIANA, MISSISSIPPI, BAYOU, PONTCHARTRAIN, GUMBO, BEIGNET, KING CAKE, JAZZ, MARDI GRAS, PELICAN, MAGNOLIA, ALLIGATOR, FLEUR-DE-LIS

Next step Make a word search from your own parish and town names Scramble the Louisiana food words

All 193 words

Louisiana Cities 24

Abbeville Seat of Vermilion Parish, founded by a French priest.
Alexandria City on the Red River near the center of the state.
Baton Rouge State capital on the Mississippi; its French name means red stick.
Bossier City Shreveport's neighbor on the east bank of the Red River.
Breaux Bridge Town on Bayou Teche that calls itself the Crawfish Capital of the World.
Covington Seat of St. Tammany Parish, north of Lake Pontchartrain.
Crowley Seat of Acadia Parish, a town surrounded by rice fields.
Grand Isle Town on a barrier island at the edge of the Gulf, reached by a long highway through the marsh.
Hammond City in Tangipahoa Parish, home of Southeastern Louisiana University.
Houma Bayou city, seat of Terrebonne Parish, named for a Native people.
Kenner City in Jefferson Parish that holds the main airport of the New Orleans area.
Lafayette Hub city of Acadiana on the Vermilion River, named for a French hero of the American Revolution.
Lake Charles City on the Calcasieu River in the southwest, a center of oil refining.
Metairie Large community in Jefferson Parish between New Orleans and Kenner.
Monroe City on the Ouachita River in the northeast.

Show all 193 words (178 more)

Louisiana Cities, continued

Morgan City Port town on the Atchafalaya River tied to shrimp boats and offshore oil.
Natchitoches Town on the Cane River founded by the French as a trading post, known for its meat pies.
New Iberia Town on Bayou Teche founded by Spanish settlers.
New Orleans Largest city in the state, founded by the French in 1718 on a bend of the Mississippi.
Opelousas Seat of St. Landry Parish, named for a Native people of the prairie.
Ruston North Louisiana town that is home to Louisiana Tech University.
Shreveport City on the Red River in the far northwest, near the Texas and Arkansas lines.
Slidell City on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Thibodaux Town on Bayou Lafourche, seat of Lafourche Parish and home of Nicholls State University.

Louisiana Parishes and Regions 22

Acadiana French-speaking region of the south and southwest, settled by exiles from Canada.
Ascension Parish on the Mississippi whose seat is Donaldsonville.
Avoyelles Central parish whose seat is Marksville.
Caddo Northwest parish named for a Native people; Shreveport is its seat.
Calcasieu Southwest parish whose seat is Lake Charles.
Cameron Marshy parish in the southwest corner of the state, on the Gulf.
Evangeline Parish named for the heroine of a Longfellow poem about Acadian exiles.
Iberia Parish on Bayou Teche named for the Spanish peninsula; Avery Island lies in it.
Iberville Parish named for the French-Canadian explorer who founded the colony.
Jefferson Parish named for the president who bought the territory from France.
Kisatchie National forest of piney hills in the central and northern parts of the state.
Orleans Parish that covers exactly the same ground as the Crescent City.
Parish Division of the state, such as Caddo or Orleans, that does the job of a county elsewhere.
Plaquemines Parish that follows the Mississippi to its mouth in the Gulf.
Pointe Coupee Parish whose seat is New Roads, beside the oxbow called False River.
Rapides Central parish whose seat is Alexandria; named for rapids on the Red River.
St. Bernard Parish just downriver from New Orleans whose seat is Chalmette.
St. Landry Parish whose seat is Opelousas.
St. Tammany Parish on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
Tangipahoa Parish north of Lake Pontchartrain whose seat is Amite City.
Terrebonne Coastal parish whose French name means good earth; Houma is its seat.
Vermilion Coastal parish whose seat is Abbeville.

Louisiana Rivers and Bayous 22

Atchafalaya River and vast swamp basin that carry part of the Mississippi's flow to the Gulf.
Bayou Slow, marshy stream or channel; the word comes from Choctaw by way of French.
Borgne Lagoon east of New Orleans that opens to the Gulf.
Causeway Twin low bridges that carry traffic straight across Lake Pontchartrain.
Chandeleur Name of a chain of low barrier islands in the Gulf, east of the delta.
Chenier Sandy ridge in the coastal marsh where oak trees grow; from the French word for oak.
Coulee Local word for a small stream or drainage ditch.
Delta Bird-foot tip of new ground where the great river drops its silt into the Gulf.
Gulf Arm of the Atlantic that forms the southern edge of the state.
Lafourche Bayou that branches from the Mississippi at Donaldsonville and runs past Thibodaux to the Gulf.
Levee Earthen bank raised along a river to hold back floods.
Maurepas Shallow lake west of Lake Pontchartrain, ringed by cypress swamp.
Mississippi Great river that crosses the state and reaches the Gulf below New Orleans.
Oxbow Crescent of still water that was once a river loop, such as False River.
Pearl River Stream that forms the border with Mississippi in the southeast.
Pontchartrain Brackish estuary north of New Orleans, crossed by a very long causeway.
Red River Reddish stream that crosses the state from Shreveport to the Atchafalaya.
Sabine Boundary stream with Texas for much of its course; its name is Spanish for cypress.
Spillway Gated channel that lets floodwater leave the river; the Bonnet Carré one protects New Orleans.
Swamp Flooded forest of cypress and tupelo.
Teche Bayou that winds past St. Martinville and New Iberia through Cajun country.
Toledo Bend Large reservoir on the Sabine River, shared with Texas.

Louisiana Food 27

Andouille Smoked pork sausage that seasons gumbo and jambalaya.
Beignet Square of fried dough served hot under a heap of powdered sugar.
Bisque Creamy soup, often made here with crawfish.
Boudin Cajun sausage stuffed with pork and rice.
Catfish Bottom feeder with barbels like whiskers, raised in farm ponds.
Cayenne Hot red pepper ground into a spice.
Crawfish Small freshwater shellfish boiled by the sack in spring, the state crustacean.
Étouffée Shellfish smothered in a thick sauce and spooned over rice.
Gumbo Stew thickened with okra or ground sassafras, named the official state cuisine.
Hot Sauce Peppery liquid seasoning sprinkled on almost everything.
Jambalaya One-pot meal in which the grain soaks up broth with sausage, chicken or shrimp.
King Cake Ring-shaped pastry in purple, green and gold eaten during the Carnival season.
Maque Choux Corn braised with peppers and onions.
Mirliton Local name for a pale green squash, also called chayote.
Okra Green pod that thickens gumbo.
Pecan Nut of a native tree, baked into pies and pralines.
Po' Boy Sandwich on crisp French bread, often filled with fried shrimp or roast beef.
Praline Candy patty of pecans, sugar and cream.
Red Beans Monday dish simmered slowly and ladled over rice.
Remoulade Tangy sauce served with shrimp.
Rice Grain grown in flooded fields of the southwest prairies.
Roux Flour browned in fat, the base of gumbo.
Satsuma Small, easy-peeling citrus grown near the coast.
Strawberry Red berry of spring; Ponchatoula holds a festival for it.
Sugarcane Tall grass crushed for its sweet juice, a main crop of the south of the state.
Tasso Spicy smoked pork used for seasoning.
Yam Local name for the sweet potato.

Louisiana Music and Mardi Gras 26

Accordion Squeezebox that leads Cajun and zydeco bands.
Banjo Round-bodied string instrument strummed in early jazz bands.
Blues Music of bent notes and repeated lines that fed into jazz.
Brass Band Group of horns and drums that marches in street parades.
Cajun Descendant of the Acadian exiles; also their fiddle and accordion music.
Clarinet Reed instrument with a clear, woody tone, heard in early jazz.
Congo Square Open space in New Orleans where people gathered on Sundays to drum and dance.
Cornet Small, mellow cousin of the trumpet played by early jazz leaders.
Courir Country custom of riding from house to house in costume to gather food for a shared gumbo.
Dixieland Nickname for traditional jazz in the manner of early New Orleans combos.
Fais Do-Do Cajun dance party; the name comes from telling children to go to sleep.
Fiddle Violin as played for Cajun dances.
Flambeaux Torches carried to light night parades.
Frottoir Metal washboard worn on the chest and scraped with spoons or bottle openers.
Jazz Music born in New Orleans, built on improvisation and swing.
Krewe Social group whose members ride in a Carnival procession or host a formal dance.
Louis Armstrong New Orleans native who became a world-famous horn player and singer; the city's airport is named for him.
Mardi Gras Carnival day before Lent, French for Fat Tuesday.
Ragtime Piano style with a bouncing, off-beat rhythm that came before jazz.
Second Line Crowd that dances behind the band in a street parade.
Sousaphone Wraparound bass horn that rests on the player's shoulder in a street parade.
Swamp Pop Style from Acadiana that blends rhythm and blues with country and local French sounds.
Trombone Slide horn that growls and swoops in a brass band.
Two-Step Quick dance done to Cajun music.
Waltz Slow, gliding turn around the floor that Cajun bands play between faster numbers.
Zydeco Fast dance music of French-speaking Black Creoles, led by accordion and washboard.

Louisiana State Symbols 21

Agate Banded stone named the state mineral.
Alligator State reptile, a big armored hunter of swamps and marshes.
Bald Cypress State tree, a swamp conifer that drops its needles in fall.
Black Bear State mammal, a shy animal of the bottomland forests.
Capitol Limestone tower in Baton Rouge where the legislature meets.
Catahoula State dog, a spotted herding breed with pale eyes.
Confidence Closing word of the state motto.
Fleur-de-lis Stylized lily of French kings, an official state symbol.
Honeybee State insect.
Iris The wild Louisiana kind is the state wildflower.
Justice Middle word of the state motto.
Locomotive Steam engine; a restored Southern Pacific one is an official state symbol.
Magnolia State flower, a large creamy blossom on an evergreen tree.
Mayhaw Small tart fruit of a swamp hawthorn, made into an official state jelly.
Meat Pie The Natchitoches kind, a fried turnover, is an official state food.
Palmwood Petrified wood of ancient palms, the state fossil.
Pelican State bird, shown on the flag and the seal feeding its young.
Sunshine The missing word in You Are My ___, a song the state made its own.
Tartan Plaid cloth pattern; the state has an official one.
Tree Frog The green kind is the state amphibian.
Union Opening word of the state motto, ahead of justice and confidence.

Louisiana History 26

Acadian French settler expelled from Nova Scotia whose descendants became the Cajuns.
Bienville French-Canadian governor who founded New Orleans.
Cabildo Spanish-era building on Jackson Square where the transfer of the territory was signed.
Chalmette Battlefield just downriver from New Orleans where Andrew Jackson's troops defeated a British army.
Chitimacha Native people of the Bayou Teche country, known for river cane baskets.
Choctaw Native nation whose Jena Band is federally recognized in Louisiana; the word bayou is thought to come from its language.
Coushatta Native people with a nation based near Elton.
Creole Person descended from the people of the colony under French and Spanish rule; also their culture and cooking.
French Quarter Historic heart of New Orleans, known for iron balconies and courtyards; also called the Vieux Carré.
Isleños Descendants of Canary Islanders who settled in St. Bernard Parish under Spain.
Jackson Square Park at the heart of the French Quarter, faced by St. Louis Cathedral.
Jean Lafitte Privateer of Barataria Bay who helped defend New Orleans; a national park bears his name.
King Louis French monarch for whom the territory was named.
La Salle French explorer who reached the mouth of the Mississippi in 1682 and claimed the valley for his king.
Lagniappe A little something extra, given for free.
Mound Earthen hill built by Native peoples, as at Marksville and Watson Brake.
Napoleon French ruler who sold the territory to the United States.
Oil Rig Platform that drills for petroleum, on land or out in the Gulf.
Pirogue Small flat-bottomed boat paddled or poled through the swamp.
Poverty Point Site of huge earthen ridges and mounds built by Native people long ago; a World Heritage Site.
Purchase Deal of 1803 in which the United States bought the territory from France.
Statehood Full membership in the Union, reached in 1812 as the eighteenth to join.
Steamboat Paddle-driven vessel that carried cotton and passengers on the Mississippi.
Streetcar Electric rail car; the St. Charles Avenue line still rolls under the oaks.
Trawler Boat that drags nets for shrimp through Gulf and bay waters.
Tunica Name of a Native people who joined with the Biloxi; their nation is based at Marksville.

Louisiana Wildlife 25

Anhinga Diving bird that swims with just its snaky neck above water.
Armadillo Armored digger with a banded shell.
Barred Owl Night bird of the swamp whose hoots sound like a question.
Bowfin Ancient fish that can gulp air at the surface of stagnant water.
Bullfrog Big frog with a deep call; Cajun French calls it ouaouaron.
Cattail Marsh plant with a brown, sausage-shaped seed head.
Cicada Insect whose drumming chorus fills hot afternoons; it leaves a hollow shell on tree bark.
Cottonmouth Venomous water snake that shows the white inside of its jaws.
Dragonfly Darting insect that some here call a mosquito hawk.
Egret White wading bird; a colony was sheltered at Bird City on Avery Island.
Ibis White marsh bird with a curved red beak and black wingtips.
Live Oak Sprawling evergreen with heavy limbs that sweep the ground, planted in long alleys.
Mallard Duck with a green-headed male that winters in the marshes.
Mink Sleek brown hunter of the water's edge.
Muskrat Marsh rodent that builds dome-shaped lodges of reeds.
Nutria Large orange-toothed rodent from South America that chews up the marsh.
Paddlefish River fish whose snout is stretched into a broad oar.
Palmetto Low fan palm of the swamp floor.
Raccoon Masked, ring-tailed raider of crawfish ponds and trash cans.
Spanish Moss Gray air plant that hangs in curtains from cypress and oak limbs.
Spoonbill Rosy pink wader that sweeps its odd beak from side to side to feed.
Swamp Rabbit Cottontail relative that swims well.
Tupelo Swamp tree with a swollen base that grows beside cypress.
Water Hyacinth Floating plant with purple flowers that clogs bayous.
Whooping Crane Tall white bird, very rare, returned to the marshes of the southwest.

How this list was compiled: Own work. Words and names about the state of Louisiana, chosen and described for children: eight themed lists (cities, parishes and regions, rivers and bayous, food, music and Mardi Gras, state symbols, history, wildlife), Louisiana Favorites, an easy list of every word of 3 to 5 letters and a hard list of every word of 8 letters or more. The grid keeps only the letters A to Z, so Étouffée is hidden as ETOUFFEE, Po' Boy as POBOY and St. Tammany as STTAMMANY. Entries have 3 to 14 letters once marks, spaces, hyphens, periods and apostrophes are dropped, and inside one list no word sits inside another, forwards or backwards. Clues are our own wording; no clue repeats a word of four letters or more from its own entry. No brand, team, living person, fictional character or drink is listed. American spellings. Places, names, parish seats and state symbols were checked on 3 October 2026 against the English Wikipedia article Louisiana, its list of Louisiana state symbols and the article for each entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana, license CC BY-SA 4.0). The dates, the capital and the largest city were checked the same day in a second work, Store norske leksikon (https://snl.no/Louisiana_-_delstat_i_USA). Where no second work gave a figure or a record, the clue leaves it out. Unofficial and not affiliated with the State of Louisiana; an educational puzzle, so check the official source before you rely on a fact. Licence: own work

How it works

These printable Louisiana word search puzzles open with Pontchartrain, Beignet, Fleur-de-lis, Pelican and 12 more favorites. Start from a list holds eight themed lists, from cities and parishes to food and Mardi Gras music.

Read the full guide

A Louisiana cities printable word search

Under Start from a list, Louisiana Cities gives a puzzle of place names alone: Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport, Lafayette, Natchitoches, Thibodaux and more. Louisiana Parishes and Regions adds parish names, each clued by its seat or its namesake, such as Terrebonne, French for good earth.

Long names and missing marks

Natchitoches, Atchafalaya, Pontchartrain and Tangipahoa are the hard part of the hunt. The grid drops accents, apostrophes, periods and hyphens, so Étouffée hides as ETOUFFEE, Po' Boy as POBOY, St. Tammany as STTAMMANY and Fleur-de-lis as FLEURDELIS.

Easy Louisiana has the short words: Gumbo, Roux, Okra, Jazz, Krewe, Bayou, Levee and Ibis.
Tick Show clues, not words, on the Louisiana Food list: pupils must get Roux from "Flour browned in fat, the base of gumbo."

Questions and answers

Are these Louisiana free printable word searches for kids?

Yes. Every list is free to print and written for children: no drinks, no brands and no living people. Each word has a one-line fact under the tool, so a puzzle doubles as a fact sheet for a state report.

What Louisiana food words are in the puzzle?

Gumbo, Jambalaya, Crawfish, Étouffée, Beignet, Po' Boy, Boudin, Andouille, Praline, King Cake, Roux and Okra are in the Louisiana Food list, with crops such as Sugarcane, Rice, Pecan and Satsuma.

Which music and Mardi Gras words does it have?

Louisiana Music and Mardi Gras has Jazz, Zydeco, Cajun, Blues, Brass Band, Second Line, Accordion, Frottoir and Fais Do-Do, then Mardi Gras, Krewe, Flambeaux and Courir. The site's Mardi Gras word search has the full Carnival list.

Does it come with an answer key?

Yes. Print or save as PDF prints the puzzle with a Name and Date line, then the answer key on a separate page. Show answers, beside New puzzle, marks the words on screen.

All 193 words

Louisiana Cities 24

Louisiana Cities, continued

Louisiana Parishes and Regions 22

Louisiana Rivers and Bayous 22

Louisiana Food 27

Louisiana Music and Mardi Gras 26

Louisiana State Symbols 21

Louisiana History 26

Louisiana Wildlife 25

How it works

A Louisiana cities printable word search

Long names and missing marks

Questions and answers

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