37 English Palindromes: A List of Words that Read the Same Forwards & Backwards

If you've watched the Korean drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo on Netflix, you may have noticed that Attorney Woo introduces her name with a list of palindromes, including kayak, rotator, deed, and her name Woo Young-woo.

A palindrome is any word, phrase, or date of the year that reads the same both forward and backward. One of the earliest known palindromic formations, the Sator Square, dates back to 79 AD. It is a 5x5 grid of Latin words that connect with each other.

A Sator Square found in France. By M Disdero / Creative Commons

The word is derived from the Greek palindromos, meaning “running back again.” Over time, this word world of English palindromes has grown into a vast collection of reversible fun. Here is a list of 37 examples to get you started!

Palindrome Examples in English

1. Sit on a potato pan, Otis.
2. Cigar? Toss it in a can. It is so tragic.
3. Go hang a salami, I’m a lasagna hog.
4. Taco cat.
5. Nun.
6. Mom.
7. Madam in Eden, I’m Adam.
8. Go deliver a dare vile dog.
9. Yo! Banana boy.
10. Murder for a jar of red rum.
11. Evil, olive!
12. Oozy rat in a sanitary zoo.
13. Step on no pets.
14. Was it a cat I saw?
15. I'm a lasagna, hang a salami.
16. Kodak ad, OK.
17. On a clover, if alive, erupts a vast pure evil; a fire volcano.
18. Yawn a more Roman way.
19. Top step's pup's pet spot.
20. Sums are not set as a test on Erasmus.
21. Stressed desserts.
22. Rats drown in WordStar.
23. No lemon, no melon.
24. May a moody baby doom a yam?
25. Never odd or even.
26. Do geese see God?
27. Sir, I demand, I am a maid named Iris.
28. Eva, can I see bees in a cave?
29. Egad! An adage!
30. Gert, I saw Ron avoid a radio-van, or was it Reg?
31. I made border bard’s drowsy swords; drab, red robed am I.
32. Name no side in Eden, I’m mad!
33. No, it can, as it is, it is a war. Raw as it is, it is an action.
34. "Regal as tide", Kramer remarked. "It's a lager!"
35. Was it Eliot's toilet I saw?
36. Some men interpret nine memos.
37. A man, a plan, a canal, Panama!