Pirate Word Search Printable Free

Press New puzzle for 15 pirate words, from Anchor to Doubloon, then print the sheet with its answer key.

Name Date

Pirate Word Search

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

0 of 15 words found

LBQADPIHMIOMGQO

DTESTLITETWJMWR

OJRPEHTDIRJSLGC

UCAYEIXFDHOOKOF

BASGFWANFRLPFCN

LPPLURHRKTLMRRU

OTSASTORMRYPPLI

OAWSRUYNAERLHVY

NILSHWEXSAOAUBV

RNTCCIZOTSGNMAP

ATUAEIBCAUEKCGE

ESAILSEVERRANEG

MITZHOECREWISHL

XTBUCCANEERLBEE

RJSPIMTSSETWUAG

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.

MastMAST
SailsSAILS
PlankPLANK
Jolly RogerJOLLY ROGER
SpyglassSPYGLASS
CaptainCAPTAIN
CrewCREW
BuccaneerBUCCANEER
HookHOOK
Peg legPEG LEG
TreasureTREASURE
DoubloonDOUBLOON
MapMAP
StormSTORM
AhoyAHOY

15 of 26 words from the Pirate list.

Write a message in a bottle. Use three words from the list.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

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Show clues, not words

Word list

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

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Pirate Word Search

LBQADPIHMIOMGQO

DTESTLITETWJMWR

OJRPEHTDIRJSLGC

UCAYEIXFDHOOKOF

BASGFWANFRLPFCN

LPPLURHRKTLMRRU

OTSASTORMRYPPLI

OAWSRUYNAERLHVY

NILSHWEXSAOAUBV

RNTCCIZOTSGNMAP

ATUAEIBCAUEKCGE

ESAILSEVERRANEG

MITZHOECREWISHL

XTBUCCANEERLBEE

RJSPIMTSSETWUAG

MAST, SAILS, PLANK, JOLLY ROGER, SPYGLASS, CAPTAIN, CREW, BUCCANEER, HOOK, PEG LEG, TREASURE, DOUBLOON, MAP, STORM, AHOY

Next step Make a word search from your own crew's names Make a pirate word scramble

All 130 words

Parts of a Ship 34

Anchor What the crew drops to stop a ship from drifting.
Barrel A round wooden cask for water or food.
Bow The front end of a ship.
Cabin The captain's room.
Cannon A big iron gun on wheels that fires a heavy ball.
Capstan The big winding drum the crew pushes around to raise the anchor.
Compass It shows which way is north, so a ship can hold its course.
Crow's nest The lookout post high on the main mast.
Deck The floor of a ship, open to the sky.
Figurehead The carved wooden statue at the very front.
Flag A colored cloth flown from the top of a pole.
Galleon A large, heavy sailing ship that pirates hoped to catch.
Galley The kitchen of a ship.
Hammock A hanging canvas bed below.
Hatch A trapdoor in the deck.
Helm The place where the ship is steered.
Hold The space below, where cargo is stored.
Hull The body of a ship, the part that sits in the water.
Jolly Roger The black flag with a skull and crossbones, flown in the early 1700s.
Keel The long spine along the bottom of the hull.

Show all 130 words (110 more)

Parts of a Ship, continued

Lantern An oil lamp in a glass case.
Mast The tall spar a sailor climbs to reach the lookout.
Oars Long paddles for rowing a small boat.
Plank One long board of the deck.
Porthole A round pane of thick glass in the hull, just above the waves.
Rigging All the ropes that hold up and work the sails.
Rowboat A small open craft that a sailor pulls along with two oars.
Rudder The underwater board at the rear that turns a ship left or right.
Sails Big sheets of canvas that catch the wind.
Schooner A sailing ship with two or more masts and sails set front to back.
Sloop A small sailing ship with a single mast.
Spyglass A small telescope held up to one eye.
Stern The rear of a ship, where the captain's windows are.
Wheel The spoked circle the steersman turns.

The Crew 25

Bandana A bright kerchief knotted at the back of the head.
Bosun The officer in charge of the ropes, sails and deck work.
Buccaneer A pirate or privateer of the Caribbean in the 1600s and 1700s.
Captain The leader of the ship and its crew.
Carpenter The one who mends the wooden hull and masts.
Castaway A person left alone on an island after a wreck.
Cook The one who makes the meals.
Corsair A sea raider of the Mediterranean.
Crew Everyone who works on one ship.
Cutlass A short, broad sword carried by sailors.
Eye patch A black cover tied over one side of the face.
First mate The officer second in command.
Hook In stories, what a captain wears in place of a lost hand.
Landlubber A sailor's name for someone who is clumsy on a ship.
Lookout The sailor who watches for land and other ships.
Navigator The one who works out where the ship is and which way to steer.
Parrot A bright talking bird that sits on a shoulder in the stories.
Peg leg A wooden limb in the old stories.
Pirate A robber at sea.
Privateer A sailor with a government's permission to raid enemy ships.
Sailor A person who works on a ship.
Scallywag A playful name for a rascal.
Stowaway A person who hides on a ship to get a free trip.
Swashbuckler A bold, swaggering adventurer with a sword.
Tricorn A hat with the brim turned up on three sides.

Treasure 24

Buried Hidden under the ground.
Cargo What fills the hold of a merchant ship.
Cave A hollow in a cliff, a hiding place.
Chest A strong wooden box with a lock.
Coins Gold and silver disks that clink in a purse.
Cove A snug little inlet where a ship can hide from the wind.
Doubloon A Spanish gold coin. Its name comes from the Spanish word for double.
Emerald A green gem prized in treasure tales.
Fortune Riches enough to last a lifetime.
Goblet A drinking cup with a stem, made of gold or silver.
Gold A heavy yellow metal.
Island A patch of ground with water all around, good for hiding treasure.
Jewels Sparkling gems such as rubies and emeralds.
Key What you need to open the chest.
Loot Stolen goods.
Map A drawing that shows where to dig, marked with an X.
Pearls Round white gems that grow inside oysters.
Piece of eight A Spanish silver coin worth a set number of reales, as its name says.
Plunder To rob a ship or a town, and what is taken.
Riches Great wealth.
Ruby The red stone in a treasure chest.
Secret What the map's owner tells no one.
Silver The metal of a piece of eight.
Treasure Gold, silver and jewels.

Sea and Weather 25

Caribbean The warm sea of islands between North and South America.
Coast Where the land ends and the water begins.
Dock A platform where a ship is loaded.
Fathom A measure of depth equal to six feet.
Fog A thick low cloud that hides the coast.
Gale A wind strong enough to tear a sail.
Harbor Calm water close to a town, where ships lie at anchor.
Horizon The line where the sky meets the water.
Hurricane The fiercest storm of warm seas, a giant whirl of wind and rain.
Knots The measure of a ship's speed.
Lighthouse A tall tower whose beam marks dangerous rocks at night.
Ocean The wide salt water that ships cross between continents.
Reef Sharp coral hidden just below the waves.
Sandbar A hidden hump of the seabed where a keel can stick fast.
Seagull A white and gray bird that follows ships.
Shark A fast hunter with a fin that cuts the surface.
Shipwreck The remains of a vessel lying on the seabed or a reef.
Shoal A shallow place that can ground a ship.
Squall A sudden, violent burst of wind and rain.
Stars What sailors steered by at night.
Storm Dark clouds, tall waves and a howling wind.
Tide It comes in and goes out along the shore twice a day.
Voyage A long journey by ship.
Waves Moving ridges of water.
Whale A giant sea mammal that spouts when it comes up to breathe.

Pirate Talk 22

Aboard On or onto a ship.
Adrift Floating with no anchor and no one steering.
Ahoy A call to greet a ship or a sailor.
Aloft Up in the rigging.
Articles The written rules a crew agreed to before a voyage.
Ashore On or onto the land.
Avast A sailor's word for stop.
Aye A sailor's word for yes.
Belay To tie a rope fast. As an order it means stop.
Hearties What a captain calls a loyal crew.
Heave To pull or lift with all your strength.
Hoist To haul something up with ropes.
Maroon To leave someone behind on an empty island.
Matey A friendly name for a fellow sailor.
Mutiny A crew's revolt at sea.
Overboard Off the ship and into the water.
Parley A talk between enemies to settle things.
Savvy A word for do you understand.
Shanty A work song sung by sailors.
Starboard The right side of a ship when you face the front.
Swab To mop the deck.
Timbers The wooden beams of a ship, shivered in a famous saying.

How this list was compiled: Pirate words chosen and defined for this site: parts of a ship, the crew, treasure, sea and weather, and pirate talk, with a starter list, a short list and a long list. No film, book, game or character is named. The facts in the clues (the Jolly Roger of the early 1700s, buccaneers of the Caribbean, the doubloon, the piece of eight, the crow's nest, the articles a crew agreed to) were checked on 2026-10-03 in the English Wikipedia articles Piracy, Jolly Roger, Buccaneer, Doubloon, Spanish dollar, Crow's nest and Pirate code, https://en.wikipedia.org/, license CC BY-SA 4.0. Spellings were checked the same day in Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/. Clues are our own wording. Licence: own work

How it works

This pirate word search hides the ship, the crew and the treasure, from Crow's nest and Jolly Roger to Doubloon and Piece of eight. A fifth list is pirate talk: Ahoy, Avast, Matey.

Read the full guide

Five lists, from the ship to the talk

Under Start from a list, Parts of a Ship has Mast, Rigging, Capstan and Figurehead. The Crew has Bosun, Navigator, Buccaneer and Landlubber. Treasure has Doubloon, Emerald, Goblet and Map. Sea and Weather has Squall, Shoal and Fathom, and Pirate Talk has Avast, Parley, Belay and Shanty.

Clues from pirate history

Tick Show clues, not words, and the list turns into meanings. The clue for Doubloon says its name comes from the Spanish word for double, and the clue for Jolly Roger says the black flag flew in the early 1700s. The sheet also prints a writing task: a message in a bottle.

Short and Easy holds words of three to five letters, such as Mast, Hull, Gold, Map and Ahoy.

Questions and answers

What words are in the pirate word search?

The opening list has Pirate, Captain, Treasure, Chest, Gold, Map, Island, Parrot, Anchor, Mast, Sails, Cannon, Compass, Spyglass, Jolly Roger, Eye patch, Hook, Doubloon, Ahoy, Matey and more. Each press of New puzzle draws 15 of them.

What is a piece of eight?

A Spanish silver coin worth eight reales, also called the Spanish dollar. It was so widely used that it became the first international currency. Source: Wikipedia, Spanish dollar, read 3 October 2026.

What is the Jolly Roger?

The flag a pirate ship flew before or during an attack in the early 1700s. The best-known design is a skull and crossbones on a black field. Source: Wikipedia, Jolly Roger, read 3 October 2026.

Are pirates from films or books named in the puzzle?

No. The lists hold ship parts, crew jobs, treasure, sea words and old sailors' sayings. No character, film, book or game is named, and no real pirate either.

All 130 words

Parts of a Ship 34

Parts of a Ship, continued

The Crew 25

Treasure 24

Sea and Weather 25

Pirate Talk 22

How it works

Five lists, from the ship to the talk

Clues from pirate history

Questions and answers

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