4-letter words with C as the 2nd letter

The pattern puts C in the second slot, leaving the first and final letters open. Among the 57 matches, S is the most frequent first letter, while E and S tie as the most frequent endings. Familiar options such as ACID and SCAN sit alongside less everyday entries, so check your game’s dictionary before relying on an unfamiliar word.

The pattern at a glance

• There are 57 eligible four-letter words with C second.
• S starts 21 matches; A starts 15, followed by E with 10.
• E and S tie for the most common final letter, with 8 words each.
• 15 matches fall within the top 25,000 English words by frequency.
• Collins lists 55 matches, NWL2023 lists 42 and ENABLE lists 36.

Which beginnings dominate this pattern?

The leading shape is SC: 21 words begin with S, including SCAN, SCAM, SCAR and SCUM. AC is another strong cluster, with examples such as ACID, ACNE, ACHE and ACME. These familiar openings give you quick candidates when both the second letter and word length are fixed.

E, I and O are less common first letters, with 10, 7 and 4 matches respectively. That makes ECHO a useful recognizable option, while ICED and OCcY show how sharply the word choices change with the opening letter. The pattern is far smaller than the A-second group, which has 1,057 four-letter matches.

Which 4-letter words with C as the 2nd letter score highest?

ICKY leads the Scrabble scores at 13 points, followed by ACHY at 12 and OCCY at 11. ICKS scores 10; ECHO, ACHE, ACYL, SCOW, ECHT and SCRY each score 9. The average score across the pattern is 7.5, so the top few stand out from the overall group.

The C is worth 3 Scrabble points, but the rest of the rack matters: ICKY gets its lift from K and Y. Collins accepts 55 of these words, compared with 42 in NWL2023 and 36 in ENABLE; those overlapping totals mean an entry accepted in one list may not work in another.