Each word in a Crossword Compiler word list has an associated score. The value of the score can be anything between 0 and 100. The scores are used to optimize grid filling, and to allow you to cut off words with too low a score when you're finding words or looking for anagrams.
You can view the distribution of scores in a word list (along with other statistics) by selecting the word list, and then Word list statistics from right-click menu.
For example, in the default word list most words either have a score of 25 or 50. The words with 50 are rather more common, and are generally root words (i.e. not many -ing, -ed, endings, etc.). When you do grid filling, Crossword Compiler can use this information to make sure that you get far more of the better words in your crosswords. You could also hide all the words with a score of only 25 by setting the cut-off minimum score for word finding, anagram finding or grid filling to, say, 30. You can change the cut-off scores in the List Usage box.
The absolute magnitude of the word scores is not very important. Mostly what matters is the relative scores, with a word higher than another being used much more frequently (in grid filling).
In detail, the scoring of the default English word list is as follows:
|
50 |
|
25 |
|
10 |
The low scores contain words that are not well known in the version of English you selected when you installed the program:
|
3 |
|
2 |
Hence the default cut-off score of 5 will avoid all words that aren't used in your preferred variety of English. If you installed for American English, these would include Briticisms, Canadianisms, etc.
See the Change Scores topic for how to view and edit word scores.