Top 90 List of Er Words to Improve Your Vocabulary

Here is our top list of er words you can add to your writing. Read our guide.

Words containing “er” are common in writing and verbal communication. It’s also one of English’s most pervasive digraphs (a pair of letters creating a sound). Familiarizing yourself with these words is necessary to understand how they’re applied in formal and informal speech and writing.

What Are Er Words?

The pair “er” is a vowel digraph, where two letters make one sound or phoneme. Some refer to it as the “r-controlled vowel” or vowels followed by the letter “r,” also known as murmur diphthongs. 

Sometimes words are spelled with “er” but sound /ur/. For instance, “her” and “person.” There are also words spelled as “ir,” “ear,” and “ur” but have the /er/ sound. Because these can confuse learners, we prepared a list to help you get accustomed to these “er” words.

Allergic	Ferry	Painter
Beer	Folder	Player
Better	Follower	Photographer
Beret	Friendlier	Prefer
Bigger	Fresher	Power
Bumper	Funnier	Prettier
Caller	Greater	Reader
Closer	Generous	Renter
Cooler	Happier	Rerun
Dinner	Harder	Rounder
Dryer	Here	Router
Eerie	Hero	Sharper
Eager	Higher	Shorter
Easier	Hunter	Stronger
Er	Internship	Summer
Era	Internet	Superman
Eradicate	Letter	Surgery
Eraser	Lighter	Teacher
Ere	Longer	Three-wheeler
Ergonomics	Material	Trailer
Ermite	Mercy	Transfer
Erodible	Miner	Traveler
Erosion	Money-saver	Version
Erotic	Mother	Viewer
Errand	Nerdy	Verse
Erratic	Nicer	Very
Errorless	Offer	Warmer
Eruption	Opener	Washer
Erythrophobia	Over	Writer
Feral	Paper	Zero

Words With Er in the Initial Position

Of all the categories on this list, words beginning with “er” are the rarest in English. Note that some of these words are not commonly used in speaking and writing.

1. Er

About your proposition, er…, I don’t think it will solve our issue.

2. Era

The 1984 version of Hamlet is my favorite medieval-era movie.

3. Eradicate

We can only save this country if we eradicate corruption.

4. Eraser

Unfortunately, there’s no magic eraser that can wipe away your mistakes.

5. Ere

I should take the promotion ere the CEO changes his mind.

6. Ergonomics

He will fail the class if he doesn’t do well in his Ergonomics exam.

7. Ermite

Thalia gave me an ermite made by her grandmother from Canada.

8. Erodible

The area isn’t safe for building anything as it has erodible soil.

9. Erosion

The river rocks are smooth from years of surface erosion.

10. Erotic

Gale admits to reading erotic stories, which I think is normal for his age.

11. Errand

She can’t come to the party since she has an errand to run today.

12. Erratic

Her parents took her to the hospital because they were nervous about her erratic heartbeat.

13. Errorless

Machines may offer errorless executions, but our company still prefers human employees.

14. Eruption

Mount St. Helen’s 1980 eruption is one of the most destructive natural phenomena in the US.

15. Erythrophobia

Erythrophobia, or fear of blushing, causes extreme anxiety.

Words With Er in the Medial Position

There are almost 85,000 words containing “er,” and most have the digraph in the middle. These widespread words are helpful for word games and everyday conversations.

16. Allergic

Danny’s devastated to know that he’s allergic to seafood because he loves to eat crabs.

17. Beret

My cousin has many hats, but his father’s old army green beret is his favorite.

18. Eerie

We investigated where the eerie sound came from and realized Jessie’s cat was the culprit.

19. Feral

I love tigers, but I will never take one as a pet; they are still feral beasts, no matter what.

20. Ferry

If you want to keep to your budget, it’s best to stay on an overnight ferry in Japan rather than splurge on a Caribbean cruise.

21. Here

Is it so bad that I want him to be here with me? 

22. Generous

Our father reminds us that we should be generous but pick who we help as some only want to take advantage of our kindness.

23. Internet

Our internet provider asked us to restart the router every week.

24. Material

What do you think is the best material to use for the house foundation?

25. Mercy

The judges were asked to show no mercy to the contestants to make the episode more entertaining.

26. Nerdy

I thought he was nerdy, but he was just really shy and eventually warmed up to me. 

27. Rerun

Jay wants us to watch a rerun of his favorite show.

28. Superman

Calvin doesn’t need the costume and makeup because he is a real-life Superman.

29. Verse

Taylor asked me to write a verse for her new song.

30. Zero

Do you think it’s possible to have zero problems?

Words With Er in the Final Position

There are different ways to use “er” as the last part of a word. The first method is to add “er” to verbs to form nouns referring to living (run to runner) and nonliving things (peel to peeler). Another way is to develop a noun described by the word, such as describing someone’s job (law to lawyer) or residency (New York to New Yorker).

31. Bumper

I’m mentally preparing myself for a night of scolding once my parents learn that I hit our family car’s bumper. 

32. Caller

You need to set up your business caller ID to look more professional.

33. Dryer

Unlike what the website listing led us to believe, the condo unit has no dryer.

34. Folder

Our teacher always puts her student’s papers in a blue folder.

35. Follower

She’s a devoted follower of the religion.

36. Hunter

The hunter stalks after the wild deer.

37. Miner

The company is looking for an experienced miner who’s familiar with the cave they plan to enter.

38. Money-saver

Avoiding expensive restaurants and cooking your own meals are great money-saver tips while on vacation.

39. Opener

The can opener is by the kitchen sink.

40. Painter

Van Gogh, now a renowned painter, was defeated by his manic depression in 1890.

41. Player

Matthew dreams of becoming a varsity player like his father.

42. Photographer

Ella is looking for a photographer to hire for their family event.

43. Reader

She’s an avid reader, but I don’t think she’ll want to be in the university book club. 

44. Renter

The Smith family has always been a good renter, but they’ll soon leave and move to a new country.

45. Teacher

The most patient person I’ve ever met was Mrs. Marinas, my first-grade teacher.

46. Three-wheeler

Most Asian countries have three-wheeler motorcycles for public transportation and personal use.

47. Traveler

It will be hard to locate the doctor as he’s a recluse and traveler who doesn’t stay long in one place.

48. Viewer

The new series garnered an impressive amount of viewers for its first episode.

49. Washer

Jake plans to apply as a car washer to help his parents finance his education.

50. Writer

Maven eagerly waits for the writer to post the new chapter of his favorite story.

Words With Er: Adjectives

When “er” is added to adjectives, it becomes a comparative adjective. These are the words used to compare a person, animal, or object. It’s best to understand the different rules of comparative adjectives first before applying “er” to adjectives to avoid mistakes.

51. Better

The new store at the corner of the street has a better clothes selection than the old place.

52. Bigger

Belinda wants a bigger venue for her birthday party. 

53. Closer

My father’s new job is closer to our house.

54. Cooler

William is looking forward to moving to Scotland because it has a cooler temperature than America.

55. Easier

She finds it easier to write one-shot stories rather than chaptered ones.

56. Friendlier

Geneva’s sister is friendlier than her.

57. Fresher

My mother sent my father back to the market to find fresher vegetables.

58. Funnier

Their friends find Timothy funnier than Gabriel.

59. Happier

I think it’s best if you let him go if he’ll be happier with his new lover.

60. Harder

The broken car didn’t even move an inch! We must push it harder.

61. Higher

I think we’ll have a higher score than the previous contestants.

62. Lighter

Jasmine wants to try a lighter shade of brown for her hair color.

63. Longer

She cut her hair super short, and now even her brother has longer hair than her.

64. Nicer

Her new boyfriend may not be as handsome as her ex, but he’s nicer.

65. Prettier

Elisa is looking for a prettier dress than the one she wore to the prom last year.

66. Rounder

Is it just me, or does the moon look rounder tonight?

67. Sharper

He doesn’t participate in class often, but he’s actually a genius who’s sharper than anyone in our university.

68. Shorter

Pinky is shorter than the other cabin crew, but she’s still an airline stewardess.

69. Stronger

Hurricanes today are stronger than they used to be in the past due to climate change.

70. Warmer

It’s warmer today compared to the last few days since summer is nearly here.

Common Er Words

Since many words in the English language contain “er,” it’s inevitable to encounter them daily. Sometimes you don’t even notice how often you use these words when writing or talking. Some common “er” words are as follows:

71. Beer

I don’t want to get too drunk, so I’ll just get a beer tonight.

72. Dinner

Our clan will have a family dinner to celebrate grandma’s birthday.

73. Eager

Nicole is very eager about the upcoming holiday because her family plans to go to Finland.

74. Greater

I think Team A has a greater chance of winning the contest.

75. Hero

JK’s favorite Marvel hero is Ironman.

76. Internship

I can’t believe the famous IT company in our area has offered me an internship.

77. Letter

My parents used to exchange letters when they were younger.

78. Mother

My mother works at the local bakery.

79. Offer

Jun is still thinking about the pros and cons of the company’s offer to finance his move abroad.

80. Over

Venus asked me to come over today to finish our assignment.

81. Paper

It’s dangerous to write your account passwords on paper.

82. Prefer

I prefer singing to dancing.

83. Power

There has been a recurring power shortage since the other day.

84. Router

We need to call maintenance to fix our internet router.

85. Summer

Among the four seasons, summer is what I hate the most.

86. Surgery

Her surgery is this weekend, but her manager refused to give her sick leave.

87. Trailer

Did you see the new trailer for the upcoming Viola Davis movie? It was awesome!

88. Transfer

Daniel has to transfer to another school because of his father’s new work.

89. Version

I can’t believe I submitted the unedited version of my writing to my teacher.

90. Very

Hana is very sad at the news of her grandfather passing away.

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