5-letter words with A as the 2nd letter and R as the 5th letter

The shape ?A??R fixes A in the second square and R in the last. Three quarters of the matches are -ER words, which makes the list read like a roster of jobs and agents: BAKER, MAKER, GAMER, RACER, WAGER, EATER, CATER and TAPER. Forty-two sit on the Wordle answer list.

?A??R at a glance

• 147 matches, each with A second and R fifth.
• 108 are -ER words, from BAKER and MAKER to WAGER.
• 42 are Wordle answers, close to a third.
• WAZIR, FAQIR and HAZER tie at 17 points at the top.
• T opens 16 matches, L 14 and S 13.

How many 5-letter words have A second and R fifth?

The total is 147, well clear of the other vowels in the same slot: I???R reaches 103, O???R 94 and E???R 64. A is the busiest second letter for words that end in R.

Endings explain the weight. A huge 108 of the 147 finish -ER, so the pattern behaves like a machine for agent nouns: BAKER, MAKER, GAMER, RACER, WAGER, EATER, CATER and TAPER all appear.

The spread of first letters is steady rather than spiky, led by T on 16, L on 14, S on 13, R on 12, M on 11 and P on 10.

Which ?A??R words score and solve well?

The best scorers all lean on a rare tile: WAZIR, FAQIR and HAZER share 17 points, BAZAR, MAZER and JAKER reach 16, and GAZER, WAXER, GAZAR and DAZER follow on 15.

Forty-two matches are Wordle answers, and the familiar ones double as common words: WATER, LATER, MAJOR, PAPER, LABOR, MAYOR, FAVOR, LAYER, SAFER, EAGER, MANOR, RADAR and LASER.

Definition coverage reaches 112 of the 147, so a rare form such as FAQIR is easy to look up. It still stays risky in a stricter game that drops Collins-only words.