Dictionary Order & Alphabet
🔒 Log in to trackDictionary order rules
🔒 Log in to trackWords sort letter by letter from the left. At the first position where two words differ, the word with the earlier letter comes first. One refinement settles the tricky cases: if one word runs out of letters first (Cart, Carton), the shorter word comes first. Stack the words in columns on paper and let the first split column decide.
One rule runs the whole topic
A dictionary sorts words letter by letter from the left. At the first position where two words differ, the word with the earlier letter comes first. Everything after that position does not matter.
Market, Margin, Marble all share MAR. The fourth letters are k, g, b. Since b is earliest, Marble comes first.
Rule: Compare letter by letter from the left. At the first difference, the earlier letter wins. Later letters never rescue a word.
How to compare any two words
- Write the two words one under the other.
- Scan the columns from the left.
- Stop at the first column with different letters.
- The word with the earlier letter in that column comes first.
Tip: Slide a finger down the columns. The first split column settles the whole comparison.
The prefix rule
Sometimes one word ends while it still matches the other. Cart and Carton match through C, A, R, T. Then Cart runs out of letters.
The shorter word comes first. Think of the ending as a blank space, and a space comes before every letter. So Cart comes before Carton. Play comes before Player. Scan comes before Scant.
Watch: A longer word is not automatically later. If it starts with the other word, it comes after it.
Ties that run deep
The deciding letter can hide at the fifth or sixth position. Strip the shared stem and compare only the tails.
- Sign, Sight, Signal share SIG. Fourth letters: n, h, n. Sight (h) comes first. Sign is a prefix of Signal, so Sign comes next, then Signal.
- Angel and Angle share ANG. The fourth letters are e and l. Angel comes first.
Example: Scan, Scandal, Scant. Scan is a prefix, so it leads. Scandal and Scant split at the fifth letter: d before t. Order: Scan, Scandal, Scant.
Same letters, different order
Angel and Angle use exactly the same letters. The rule does not change. Compare the first differing position and stop. Never judge by length or by feel.
The same holds for longer anagram pairs. Silent starts with S; Listen starts with L. L comes before S, so Listen comes first. One column settles it.
Read the question's direction
"Which comes first", "which comes last", "which is third", "which pair sits side by side" — all of these use one sort. Do the sort once. Number the slots 1 to 5. Then read off whatever was asked.
Watch: Marks are lost in execution, not in the rule. Common slips: a misread letter pair (m and n, r and s), a forgotten prefix, or answering first when the question asked last. Reread the direction word before marking.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
First differing letter decides
Two or three words share an opening; the question asks which comes first or last.
Scan letter by letter to the first position where the words differ.
The earlier letter at that position takes the earlier slot.
Ignore how long the shared part is; only the first difference matters.
Dictionary order is exactly this rule: the left-most difference decides.
Which comes first in the dictionary: Market, Margin or Marble?
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All three share MAR.
Fourth letters: k (Market), g (Margin), b (Marble).
B is the earliest letter, so Marble leads.
Marble
Shorter prefix sorts first
One word is exactly the start of another (Sand, Sandwich, Sandy) — a prefix pair.
Check whether one word matches the whole start of the other.
The prefix comes before the longer word.
Among extensions, compare the letter right after the stem.
Nothing can sit between a word and its own extension, so the short form lists first.
Which comes first: Sand, Sandy, Sandwich or Sandal?
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Sand matches the start of all three others.
Sand runs out of letters first, so it comes first.
Among Sandy, Sandwich, Sandal the fourth letter would decide.
Sand
Deep ties beyond the third letter
Four to six words share a long stem; the decision hides at the fourth to sixth letter.
Strip the common stem and write only the tails.
Sort the tails letter by letter; the earliest tail letter takes the earliest slot.
An empty tail (the bare stem) sorts first inside its group.
The rule does not care how deep the difference hides; it always compares the first differing column.
Arrange Sure, Surge, Surgeon, Surplus, Surreal. Which comes third?
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All share SUR. Fourth letters: e, g, g, p, r.
Sure (e) leads; then the g-pair: Surge is a prefix of Surgeon, so Surge, Surgeon.
Then Surplus (p), then Surreal (r). Third = Surgeon.
Surgeon
Slot lookups: middle and adjacent pairs
After sorting, the question asks for the middle word or an adjacent pair, not first or last.
Write the full numbered order first; never answer by instinct.
Middle of five words = slot 3.
Adjacent = two words whose slot numbers differ by exactly 1.
Every lookup variant reads off the same sorted, numbered list.
Arrange Melon, Melody, Mellow, Member. Which two are adjacent?
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Fourth letters: o, o, l, b. So Member, Mellow, then the o-pair.
Melody vs Melon splits at the fifth letter: d before n.
Order: Member, Mellow, Melody, Melon. The last two are adjacent.
Melody and Melon
Different first letters: quick full sort
The words do not share a stem; their first letters differ, so the first column settles most of it.
Group the words by first letter at once.
Only words sharing a first letter need deeper comparison.
Number the order and read the asked slot.
When first letters differ, column one decides; only same-letter groups need a second column.
Arrange Nail, North, Ocean, Train, Tunnel. Which word is second?
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First letters: N, N, O, T, T. The N-group leads, then Ocean, then the T-group.
N-group: second letters a (Nail) and o (North) → Nail, North.
T-group: second letters r (Train) and u (Tunnel) → Train, Tunnel. Second = North.
North
Shortcuts that save time
Write the words one under another and scan the columns from the left. The first column with different letters decides the whole comparison. Ignore every letter after it.
Order as in a dictionary: Sign, Sight, Signal.
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All three share S, I, G.
Fourth letters: n (Sign), h (Sight), n (Signal). H comes before N, so Sight leads.
Sign is a prefix of Signal, so Sign comes before Signal.
Sight, Sign, Signal
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Judging words by length (longer feels later).
Compare at the first differing letter. A prefix word is shorter but comes first.
Letting a later letter overturn an earlier split.
The first differing column decides. Later letters never matter after that.
Forgetting the prefix rule: putting Scant before Scan.
The shorter word that matches the other's start always comes first.
Sorting mentally to save time.
Write the words in columns on paper. One misread column flips two slots.
Answering the wrong slot (first instead of last).
Sort once, number the slots, reread the question's direction word, then mark.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
First differing letter decides; everything after it is irrelevant.
Prefix word comes first: Cart before Carton, Scan before Scant.
Stack words in columns; scan one column at a time.
Same letters, different order: still the first difference decides.
Sort once, number the slots, then answer any lookup.
Reread the direction word (first, last, third) before marking.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 9 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.