Check if Word Can Be Placed In Crossword
Difficulty: Medium
Category: DSA
Topics: Array, Matrix, Enumeration
You are given an `m x n` matrix `board`, representing the** current **state of a crossword puzzle. The crossword contains lowercase English letters (from solved words), `' '` to represent any **empty **cells, and `'#'` to represent any **blocked** cells.
A word can be placed** horizontally** (left to right **or** right to left) or **vertically** (top to bottom **or** bottom to top) in the board if:
- It does not occupy a cell containing the character `'#'`.
- The cell each letter is placed in must either be `' '` (empty) or **match** the letter already on the `board`.
- There must not be any empty cells `' '` or other lowercase letters **directly left or right**** **of the word if the word was placed **horizontally**.
- There must not be any empty cells `' '` or other lowercase letters **directly above or below** the word if the word was placed **vertically**.
Given a string `word`, return `true`_ if _`word`_ can be placed in _`board`_, or _`false`_ **otherwise**_.
**Example 1:**
**Input:** board = [["#", " ", "#"], [" ", " ", "#"], ["#", "c", " "]], word = "abc"
**Output:** true
**Explanation:** The word "abc" can be placed as shown above (top to bottom).
```
**Example 2:**
**Input:** board = [[" ", "#", "a"], [" ", "#", "c"], [" ", "#", "a"]], word = "ac"
**Output:** false
**Explanation:** It is impossible to place the word because there will always be a space/letter above or below it.
```
**Example 3:**
**Input:** board = [["#", " ", "#"], [" ", " ", "#"], ["#", " ", "c"]], word = "ca"
**Output:** true
**Explanation:** The word "ca" can be placed as shown above (right to left).
```
**Constraints:**
- `m == board.length`
- `n == board[i].length`
- `1 <= m * n <= 2 * 105`
- `board[i][j]` will be `' '`, `'#'`, or a lowercase English letter.
- `1 <= word.length <= max(m, n)`
- `word` will contain only lowercase English letters.