Transport hangman words
85 transport words, each with a clue and a difficulty score computed from its spelling. 42 easy, 32 medium, 11 hard.
Average score
3.7
Across all 85 words
Hardest
clutch
Scores 9.5
Easiest
estate
Scores -2.0
Transport words are long and heavily compounded, which makes them forgiving. Doubledecker and skateboard give themselves away as soon as half of one appears, and the guesser can finish from very little.
The difficulty is concentrated in the borrowed ones. Funicular, catamaran and gondola all keep their original spelling, and funicular in particular defeats anybody who has never taken one.
For younger players, stay with the vehicles and skip the machinery. Gearbox, odometer and fuselage are the hard end of this list and they are not words a child will have met.
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Easy transport words42
The usual opening guesses cover most of it, so it tends to fall quickly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| accelerator | The one on the right | 11 / 7 distinct | 1.0 | Easy |
| aircraft | The general term for all of them | 8 / 6 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| airliner | The one you queue for | 8 / 6 distinct | -0.5 | Easy |
| airship | Lighter than air and largely historical | 7 / 6 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| automobile | The long word for the ordinary thing | 10 / 9 distinct | 1.9 | Easy |
| balloon | Hot air, and a basket | 7 / 5 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| canoe | Kneeling, single-bladed paddle | 5 / 5 distinct | 0.2 | Easy |
| caravan | The house follows the car | 7 / 5 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| carriage | One section of the train | 8 / 6 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| catamaran | Two hulls, and stable | 9 / 6 distinct | 0.7 | Easy |
| elevator | Vertical transport, and small talk | 8 / 7 distinct | 2.0 | Easy |
| engine | The part that converts fuel into motion | 6 / 4 distinct | -0.3 | Easy |
| escalator | Stairs that do the work | 9 / 8 distinct | 1.3 | Easy |
| estate | The same car, stretched backwards | 6 / 4 distinct | -2.0 | Easy |
| gondola | Venice, and one oar | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| hangar | Where the aircraft sleeps | 6 / 5 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| helicopter | Beats the air into submission | 10 / 9 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| indicator | Used less than it should be | 9 / 8 distinct | 1.3 | Easy |
| limousine | Long, black, and hired by the hour | 9 / 8 distinct | 1.6 | Easy |
| locomotive | The bit that pulls | 10 / 8 distinct | 3.1 | Easy |
| minibus | Between a van and a coach | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| minivan | Seven seats and school runs | 7 / 5 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| monorail | One rail, usually elevated | 8 / 7 distinct | 1.1 | Easy |
| motorbike | Faster, louder, and colder | 9 / 8 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| odometer | Counts the miles | 8 / 6 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| parachute | The backup plan | 9 / 8 distinct | 3.6 | Easy |
| propeller | Blades that pull the aircraft along | 9 / 5 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| rollerskate | Four wheels arranged differently | 11 / 8 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| saloon | A separate boot, and more dignified | 6 / 5 distinct | 0.2 | Easy |
| scooter | Two wheels and no ambition to hurry | 7 / 6 distinct | 0.6 | Easy |
| seaplane | Lands on water, floats on it | 8 / 6 distinct | 0.8 | Easy |
| seatbelt | Click it before you start | 8 / 6 distinct | 1.8 | Easy |
| skateboard | Four wheels and a lot of falling over | 10 / 9 distinct | 3.2 | Easy |
| sleeper | The train with beds on it | 7 / 5 distinct | 1.6 | Easy |
| submarine | Goes down deliberately | 9 / 9 distinct | 2.8 | Easy |
| tanker | Carries liquid, and takes a while to stop | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| taxi | Available except when raining | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.0 | Easy |
| tractor | Slow, and always in front of you | 7 / 5 distinct | 1.3 | Easy |
| trailer | Towed, and hard to reverse | 7 / 6 distinct | 0.6 | Easy |
| tram | Rails, in the street | 4 / 4 distinct | 3.5 | Easy |
| tugboat | Small, and moves much larger things | 7 / 6 distinct | 3.4 | Easy |
| turbine | Spins, and does the work | 7 / 7 distinct | 2.4 | Easy |
Medium transport words32
You will get a foothold, then have to work out the rest properly.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ambulance | Written backwards on the front | 9 / 8 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| barge | Flat-bottomed, and slow on purpose | 5 / 5 distinct | 3.8 | Medium |
| cable car | Suspended, and best not looked down from | 8 / 6 distinct | 3.6 | Medium |
| camper | The house is the vehicle | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| chairlift | For getting back up the mountain | 9 / 8 distinct | 4.4 | Medium |
| coach | A bus for long distances | 5 / 4 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| convertible | Roof optional, weather permitting | 11 / 10 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| double decker | Two floors, and everyone wants the front seat upstairs | 12 / 9 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| excavator | Digs, with an arm and a bucket | 9 / 8 distinct | 3.9 | Medium |
| ferry | Carries vehicles across water | 5 / 4 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| firetruck | Ladder, hose and a great deal of red | 9 / 8 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| freight | Goods rather than people | 7 / 7 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| funicular | Two cars on a slope, balancing each other | 9 / 8 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| fuselage | The body of the aircraft | 8 / 7 distinct | 3.6 | Medium |
| gearbox | Matches engine speed to road speed | 7 / 7 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| glider | No engine, and rides the rising air | 6 / 6 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| handbrake | For hills, and for parking | 9 / 8 distinct | 5.2 | Medium |
| hovercraft | Neither boat nor plane, and very loud | 10 / 9 distinct | 5.0 | Medium |
| jet | Fast, and high enough to be cold outside | 3 / 3 distinct | 5.7 | Medium |
| junction | Where the lines meet | 8 / 7 distinct | 4.2 | Medium |
| lorry | What the Americans call a truck | 5 / 4 distinct | 4.8 | Medium |
| moped | Pedals originally, hence the name | 5 / 5 distinct | 5.8 | Medium |
| platform | Mind the gap | 8 / 8 distinct | 6.0 | Medium |
| police | The car with the lights on the roof | 6 / 6 distinct | 4.0 | Medium |
| rocket | Goes up, and keeps going | 6 / 6 distinct | 4.7 | Medium |
| runway | Long, flat and lit | 6 / 6 distinct | 6.3 | Medium |
| signal | Tells the driver whether to proceed | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| tandem | Two riders, one bicycle, one argument | 6 / 6 distinct | 3.7 | Medium |
| trawler | Fishing, and out in all weather | 7 / 6 distinct | 4.1 | Medium |
| tricycle | One more wheel, considerably less dignity | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.6 | Medium |
| trolleybus | Overhead wires, no rails | 10 / 9 distinct | 5.3 | Medium |
| unicycle | One wheel, and a great deal of practice | 8 / 7 distinct | 5.9 | Medium |
Hard transport words11
Rare letters, few vowels, or almost no repetition for a guesser to lean on.
| Word | Clue | Letters | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bicycle | The most efficient machine ever built | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
| bulldozer | Pushes earth about | 9 / 8 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
| clutch | The pedal that takes practice | 6 / 5 distinct | 9.5 | Hard |
| cockpit | Where the decisions are made | 7 / 6 distinct | 7.0 | Hard |
| dinghy | Small, and often inflatable | 6 / 6 distinct | 8.3 | Hard |
| forklift | Lifts pallets, and only pallets | 8 / 7 distinct | 6.5 | Hard |
| hatchback | The boot lid takes the back window with it | 9 / 6 distinct | 7.9 | Hard |
| kayak | Sitting, double-bladed paddle | 5 / 3 distinct | 6.6 | Hard |
| pickup | A cab and an open back | 6 / 5 distinct | 9.4 | Hard |
| subway | Underground, frequent, confusing at first | 6 / 6 distinct | 8.0 | Hard |
| yacht | Sail or motor, and expensive either way | 5 / 5 distinct | 7.4 | Hard |
Questions
What are good transport words for hangman?
The ones that survive a normal opening. A guesser starts with E, A, R and the other common letters, so a good word is one those letters barely touch. On this page that is the score: 85 transport words are listed and 11 of them rate hard.
How many transport words are on this list?
85, deduplicated, each with a clue and a computed difficulty score. They split into 42 easy, 32 medium and 11 hard.
What is the hardest word in this category?
CLUTCH, at 9.5. The easiest is ESTATE at -2.0. Both numbers come from the same formula, which is published in full at hangmanwords.net/how-difficulty-is-scored/.
Can I play these words rather than read them?
Yes. The play link on this page loads a game that draws only from this transport list, so every word you get is one of the 85 below.