SSC Dictionary Order and Word Arrangement Questions with Answers

Dictionary order and word arrangement questions test whether you can arrange words alphabetically or count the arrangements of letters. They appear in SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS reasoning papers and are quick marks if you follow a clear method. This practice paper gives you 21 questions with answers and short solutions.

How Words Are Arranged in a Dictionary

In a dictionary, words are arranged letter by letter from the left.

1. Compare the first letters. The word whose letter comes earlier in the alphabet comes first.
2. If the first letters are the same, compare the second letters, and so on.
3. A shorter word that is the beginning of a longer word comes before the longer word (Tab comes before Table).

Rules and Shortcut Tricks

• Number of arrangements of n different letters = n! (3 letters give 6, 4 letters give 24).
• If some letters repeat, divide by the factorial of each repeated count: n! / (p! x q!).
• Rank of a word: write the letters in alphabetical order and count the arrangements that come before the given word.
• Fix the first letter, then count the arrangements of the rest.
• Always underline the first letter where two words differ.
• Write the words in the correct order on paper before choosing the answer.

Set 1: Dictionary Order (Q1–Q7)

Q1. Arrange Table, Tablet, Tabular and Tab in dictionary order. Which word is second?
Answer: Table
Solution: Order: Tab, Table, Tablet, Tabular.

Q2. Which word comes first in the dictionary: Plan, Plane, Plant, Plain?
Answer: Plain
Solution: The first different letter is the 4th: I comes before N.

Q3. Which word comes last in the dictionary: Cat, Cart, Case, Cast?
Answer: Cat
Solution: Order: Cart, Case, Cast, Cat.

Q4. Which word is third in dictionary order: Mango, Man, Many, Manner?
Answer: Manner
Solution: Order: Man, Mango, Manner, Many.

Q5. Which word is second in dictionary order: Rain, Rainbow, Raise, Rack?
Answer: Rain
Solution: Order: Rack, Rain, Rainbow, Raise.

Q6. Which word comes first: Branch, Brand, Brain, Brake?
Answer: Brain
Solution: Order: Brain, Brake, Branch, Brand.

Q7. Which word comes last: Stone, Store, Storm, Story?
Answer: Story
Solution: Order: Stone, Store, Storm, Story.

Set 2: Arrangements (Q8–Q14)

Q8. How many letters of the word STREAM remain at the same position when arranged alphabetically?
Answer: None (0)
Solution: Alphabetical order is A, E, M, R, S, T, and no letter matches.

Q9. In the word PRODUCE arranged alphabetically (C, D, E, O, P, R, U), how many letters are there between the first and the last letter?
Answer: 5
Solution: D, E, O, P and R.

Q10. How many different arrangements can be made from the letters of CAT?
Answer: 6
Solution: 3! = 6.

Q11. How many arrangements can be made from the letters of LEVEL?
Answer: 30
Trick: 5! / (2! x 2!) = 30.

Q12. How many arrangements can be made from the letters of APPLE?
Answer: 60
Solution: 5! / 2! = 60.

Q13. In how many ways can the letters of MATH be arranged so that A comes first?
Answer: 6
Solution: The remaining 3 letters can be arranged in 3! = 6 ways.

Q14. The letters R, A, E, D, B form a meaningful word. Which letter is third?
Answer: E
Solution: The word is BREAD.

Set 3: Rank of a Word and Exam-Level Questions (Q15–Q21)

Q15. How many words can be made from the letters of ARM?
Answer: 6
Solution: 3! = 6.

Q16. What is the rank of CAT among all arrangements of C, A, T in dictionary order?
Answer: 3rd
Trick: ACT, ATC, CAT.

Q17. What is the rank of BAT among all arrangements of B, A, T?
Answer: 3rd
Solution: ABT, ATB, BAT.

Q18. What is the rank of DOG among all arrangements of D, O, G?
Answer: 2nd
Solution: DGO, DOG, GDO, GOD, ODG, OGD.

Q19. What is the rank of LAP among all arrangements of L, A, P?
Answer: 3rd
Solution: ALP, APL, LAP.

Q20. Which word comes last in dictionary order: ZOO, ZONE, ZONAL, ZOOM?
Answer: ZOOM
Solution: Order: ZONAL, ZONE, ZOO, ZOOM.

Q21. Which word is fifth in dictionary order: Pen, Pencil, Pens, Penny, Pent?
Answer: Pent
Solution: Order: Pen, Pencil, Penny, Pens, Pent.

Worked Example: Finding the Rank of a Word

Find the rank of LAP among all the arrangements of its letters. First write the letters in alphabetical order: A, L, P. Arrangements starting with A come first: ALP and APL, which are 2 words. The next group starts with L: LAP and LPA. The word LAP is the first in this group, so its rank is 2 + 1 = 3. For longer words, count how many arrangements start with each smaller letter using factorials and then continue with the second letter. Writing the sorted letters and fixing one letter at a time keeps the counting clean and avoids mistakes.

Another quick rule: when two words start with the same letters, find the first position where they differ and compare only that letter. For example, in BRAIN and BRAKE the first different letter is the fourth one, I and K, so BRAIN comes first.

Quick Revision Table of Factorials

Remember these values for arrangement questions: 3! = 6, 4! = 24, 5! = 120 and 6! = 720. If a letter repeats, divide by its factorial. For example, the word BOOK has 4! / 2! = 12 arrangements because the letter O is repeated twice.

Common Mistakes in Dictionary Order Questions

• Comparing words by length and not letter by letter.
• Forgetting that a shorter word comes first when it is the beginning of a longer one.
• Not dividing by the factorial of repeated letters.
• Mixing up the rank counting by forgetting the arrangements that start with a smaller letter.
• Not writing the words in order.
• Counting the given word itself before its rank.

How to Practice These 21 Questions

1. Compare words letter by letter.
2. Write the sorted list before choosing the answer.
3. Learn n! up to 6! (720).
4. Solve each set in 7 minutes.

Related Topics to Study Next

• SSC Reasoning Practice Set
• Odd One Out Questions
• Ranking and Order Questions
• Venn Diagram Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is dictionary order?

It is the alphabetical order in which words are arranged in a dictionary, letter by letter from the left.

Which word comes first, Tab or Table?

Tab comes first because a shorter word that is the beginning of a longer word comes earlier.

How do I count the arrangements of letters?

Use n! for n different letters, and divide by the factorial of repeated letters.

How do I find the rank of a word?

Arrange the letters alphabetically and count how many arrangements come before the word by fixing the first letter.

What is 5 factorial?

5! = 120.

How many arrangements are there for LEVEL?

5! / (2! x 2!) = 30, since L and E repeat twice.

What is the meaning of a meaningful word in the question?

It is an English word that can be formed from the given letters.

How many questions come from this topic in SSC exams?

One question per shift, along with the alphabet and word-based reasoning topics.

How do I avoid mistakes in word arrangement?

Write the words in order on paper and compare letter by letter.

Is permutation required?

Only the basic idea of n! is needed for these questions.

What is the first word in a dictionary among Brain and Brake?

Brain comes first, because I comes before K.

How should I prepare this topic for SSC exams?

Learn the rules, practise ranking and arrangement questions and revise the factorial values.