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3-letter words with F as the 2nd letter

3-letter words with F as the 2nd letter total 10; OFF, UFO, and AFT are recognizable entries.

10 wordsTop pick OFFHighest score OFF 9

6 of 10 are everyday words (60%). A friendly list: most players will know the top picks.

A is the most common 2nd letter in 3-letter words (261 words); J is the rarest (2). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

Best words to play first 10 · most-used first

  • OFF9
  • UFO6
  • AFT6
  • EFF9
  • OFT6
  • IFS6
  • AFF9
  • IFF9
  • EFT6
  • EFS6
All valid words 10

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

  • AFF9
  • AFT6
  • EFF9
  • EFS6
  • EFT6
  • IFF9
  • IFS6
  • OFF9
  • OFT6
  • UFO6

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
OFF99All three
EFF99All three
AFF99All three
IFF99All three
UFO67Collins only
AFT66All three
OFT66All three
IFS66All three
EFT66All three
EFS66All three

This compact pattern gives you a mix of familiar words and less obvious plays. OFF is the everyday standout, while UFO is easy to spot; EFF, AFF, and IFF fill out the doubled-F group. Collins accepts all 10 entries, but ENABLE and NWL2023 each accept 9, so the exact game dictionary matters.

The _F_ pattern at a glance

  • Collins accepts all 10 entries; ENABLE and NWL2023 each accept 9.
  • OFF, EFF, AFF, and IFF lead the score list at 9 points.
  • UFO, AFT, OFT, IFS, EFT, and EFS score 6 apiece.
  • Six entries meet our common-word frequency cutoff.
  • Four words end in F; only one ends in O.

How many 3-letter words with F as the 2nd letter?

There are 10 tournament-dictionary entries with F in the middle. That is a small set beside the other middle-letter patterns: A has 261 matches, O has 239, and E has 198. F is rarer than every vowel in this three-letter group.

The first letters are tightly clustered: E begins 3 words, while A, I, and O begin 2 each; U begins the remaining entry. Endings lean toward F, with 4 words, followed by T with 3, S with 2, and O with 1. When a clue gives you both ends, check those patterns before testing less familiar entries.

Which _F_ words score most?

For 3-letter words with F as the 2nd letter, the best scoring group is made up of four words ending in doubled F. That is a useful clue when you have F tiles, but the high score does not make every option equally familiar. Check your game's word list once; the nine-versus-ten dictionary split is the main limitation of this set.

  • OFF, EFF, AFF, and IFF tie at 9 points apiece.
  • UFO, AFT, OFT, IFS, EFT, and EFS each score 6 points.
  • For a three-letter rack play, OFF is the recognizable 9-point option.
  • Treat EFF, AFF, and IFF as dictionary-dependent plays: Collins includes all three, but not every listed dictionary accepts every entry.

Questions people ask

Are all 10 words accepted in every word game?
No, the dictionary counts differ. Collins accepts all 10 entries, while ENABLE and NWL2023 each accept 9. Check the word list used by your game before relying on a less familiar option such as EFF or IFF.
Which common words have F in the middle?
OFF, UFO, and AFT are recognizable examples in this group. Six of the 10 entries meet our common-word frequency cutoff, although the full set also includes less familiar forms such as EFS and IFF.
Why do some of these three-letter words score 9 points?
OFF, EFF, AFF, and IFF each score 9 points because each contains two F tiles. Those four words top this pattern's score list; the other six entries score 6 points apiece.

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