About this puzzle
August is the last full month of summer vacation for most American kids, and it has a personality all its own. This puzzle collects the sticky, buzzing, end-of-summer side of the month: cicadas in the trees, zucchini taking over the garden, a corn dog at the state fair, and a swimming hole on the hottest afternoon. Since it's written from a Northern Hemisphere point of view, August here means heat, not snow.
There's history too. The month was renamed for the Roman emperor Augustus, Hawaii became a state in August, and Women's Equality Day marks the day the Nineteenth Amendment, which protects women's right to vote, became official. Look up on a clear night in mid-August and you might catch the Perseids. This August word search makes a good last-week-of-camp activity or an easy way to ease back into school routines.
The 27 words in this puzzle
Every word, with a short note. Handy for teaching the vocabulary before or after solving.
In every version (12)
- Corn Dog
- A corn dog is a hot dog dipped in cornmeal batter, fried, and served on a stick. It's one of the best-known foods at American fairs.
- Hawaii
- Hawaii became the fiftieth US state on August 21, 1959. Hawaiians celebrate Statehood Day, also called Admission Day, on the third Friday in August.
- Lemonade
- Lemonade stands are a classic summer business for kids. Lemonade is made from lemon juice, water, and sugar, and pink lemonade gets its color from added fruit juice or food coloring.
- Peach
- Peaches are at their juiciest in July and August. Georgia is nicknamed the Peach State, but California actually grows the most peaches in the United States.
- Sandcastle
- Wet sand holds its shape because thin films of water act like glue between the grains. Too much water, though, and the castle slumps.
- State Fair
- Many state fairs run in August. The Iowa State Fair is famous for its butter cow, a life-size cow sculpted from butter that has been a tradition since 1911.
- Summer
- In the Northern Hemisphere, August is the last full month of summer. Summer officially ends at the autumn equinox, around September 22 or 23.
- Sunflower
- Sunflowers bloom in late summer, often peaking in August. Young sunflower buds turn to follow the sun across the sky, while most fully open flowers face east.
- Sunscreen
- Sunscreen helps protect skin from the sun's ultraviolet rays. Dermatologists suggest SPF 30 or higher, reapplied about every two hours and after swimming.
- Vacation
- Many families squeeze in one last trip in August before school starts. In much of Europe, August is the most popular month for summer holidays.
- Watermelon
- Watermelon is about 92 percent water, which makes it a refreshing late-summer snack. In the United States, its peak season runs through July and August.
- Zucchini
- Zucchini is a summer squash that grows so fast that gardeners often have more than they can eat by August. It's picked young, while the skin is still soft.
Added in Medium and Hard (8)
- Back to School
- Many American schools start in mid to late August, while others wait until after Labor Day. Shopping for new supplies is an August ritual in many families.
- Cicada
- The loud summer buzz in the trees often comes from male cicadas, which make sound by vibrating drum-like parts on their sides. Some kinds are nicknamed dog-day cicadas.
- Dog Days
- The dog days of summer are named after Sirius, the Dog Star. Ancient Greeks and Romans noticed it rising with the sun during the hottest weeks of the year.
- Heat Index
- The heat index combines temperature and humidity to show how hot it actually feels. Humid air makes it harder for sweat to evaporate and cool your body.
- Hurricane
- The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, and its busiest stretch usually begins in mid-August, as ocean water nears its warmest.
- Poppy
- The poppy is August's other birth flower, sharing the month with the gladiolus. Its papery petals come in red, orange, pink, yellow, and white.
- Smokey Bear
- Smokey Bear was created on August 9, 1944, to teach wildfire safety, making him one of the longest-running public service mascots in the United States.
- Swimming Hole
- A swimming hole is a natural spot to swim in a creek, river, or pond. Always swim with an adult nearby, since natural water can hide currents and drop-offs.
Added in Hard (7)
- Augustus
- August is named after Augustus, the first Roman emperor. The Roman Senate renamed the month in his honor in 8 BC, partly because several of his biggest victories happened in it.
- Gladiolus
- The gladiolus is one of August's birth flowers. Its name comes from the Latin word gladius, meaning sword, because its long, pointed leaves look like blades.
- Peridot
- Peridot is August's birthstone. This olive-green gem forms deep inside the Earth, and tiny peridot crystals give some beaches in Hawaii their green sand.
- Perseids
- The Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 11 to 13 each year. The shooting stars are bits of dust left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle burning up in our atmosphere.
- Sextilis
- Before it honored Augustus, the month was called Sextilis, Latin for sixth, because it was the sixth month of the early Roman calendar that started in March.
- Sirius
- Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It sits in the constellation Canis Major, the Great Dog, which is why it earned the nickname Dog Star.
- Suffrage
- Suffrage means the right to vote. The Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women that right, was certified on August 26, 1920, now marked as Women's Equality Day.
A few facts to share while you solve
- August has 31 days, just like July. A popular story says a day was taken from February so Augustus would not have a shorter month than Julius Caesar, but historians have found no evidence for it.
- During the Perseids, a dark, moonless sky away from city lights can show dozens of meteors an hour at the shower's peak.
- Smokey Bear's original slogan was about forest fires. It was updated in 2001 to "Only you can prevent wildfires" to include grasslands and other wild areas.
Four versions of this puzzle
Pick a version with the buttons above the grid. Each one has its own grid and answer key, and your progress on each is saved separately in this browser.
| Version | Words | Grid | Directions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easy | 12 | 13 × 13 | The 12 most familiar words, reading forward across and down. |
| Medium | 20 | 15 × 15 | Twenty words across, down and diagonally. No backwards words. |
| Hard | 27 | 17 × 17 | Every word, in all eight directions including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. |
| Large print | 12 | 12 × 12 | The 12 most familiar words on a small grid with big letters. No backwards words. |
Hard and large print versions
Hard august word search: all 27 words on a 17 × 17 grid, hidden forward, backward, up, down and along both diagonals, with filler letters borrowed from the word list. Print it without the word list for an extra challenge. Play the hard version, or see all hard word searches.
Large print august word search: the 12 most familiar words on a 12 × 12 grid, printed with big letters and a big word list, and no backwards words. Play the large print version, or see all large print word searches.
Printing this word search
Press Print / PDF above the puzzle. You get a clean one-page sheet with the title, the grid, a word list with tick boxes, and optional name and date lines. The answer key prints on a second page. Prefer a file? Download it as a PDF or an image to print later or drop into a worksheet. Whatever version is showing on screen is the one that prints, and the large print version prints with bigger letters.
How to play online
- Find a word from the list in the grid. Scanning for its first letter is the quickest way.
- Drag across the word from its first letter to its last. On a phone, you can also tap the first letter, then the last.
- Found words get highlighted and crossed off. Stuck? Hint circles the first letter of a word you haven’t found.
Read the full guide to solving word searches, with tips that make big grids much faster.
Questions and answers
What's in the August word search?
It mixes summer fun with a little history and science. You'll find state fair foods, garden crops, and swimming spots alongside the August birthstone and birth flower, the Perseid meteor shower, Hawaii's statehood, and Women's Equality Day. The notes below the puzzle explain each word in a sentence or two.
Is the August word search good for the first week of school?
Yes. It makes a low-pressure warm-up while students settle in, and words like Suffrage and Perseids give teachers easy openings for a short social studies or science chat. Younger grades can use the easy level, and older students can try medium or hard.
Why are dog days and Sirius in the puzzle?
The phrase dog days comes from Sirius, the Dog Star. In ancient Greece and Rome, Sirius rose just before the sun during the hottest part of summer, so people linked the star with the heat. The two words together show kids how an everyday phrase came from astronomy.
Is there an answer key for this august word search?
Yes. Choose Print / PDF above the puzzle and keep “Add an answer key page” ticked. The key prints on its own page, with every word highlighted. While playing online, Show answers outlines any words you haven’t found yet.
Can I print copies for my class or group?
Yes. Every puzzle on BetterWordSearch is free to print for personal, classroom, library and homeschool use. Print as many copies as you need. To change the words or make several different versions of the grid, use the word search maker.
What changes between Easy, Medium, Hard and Large print?
Easy hides the 12 most familiar words, reading left to right and top to bottom. Medium uses 20 words and adds diagonals. Hard hides all 27 words in every direction, including backwards, with look-alike filler letters. Large print uses the same words as Easy on a small grid and prints with big letters.
