5-letter words with A as the 3rd letter and V as the 4th letter

The pattern is _ _ A V _, so the third and fourth letters are fixed while the first, second, and last letters vary. Familiar choices include LEAVE, BRAVE, GRAVE, and SHAVE; less common options include PEAVY and SOAVE. Final-letter patterns make this compact group easier to scan.

The pattern at a glance

• 33 tournament-dictionary words fit the fixed _ _ A V _ pattern.
• Collins includes 32 matches; NWL2023 includes 28 and ENABLE includes 27.
• 15 matches are Wordle answers, and all 33 are allowed guesses.
• 21 entries end in E; four end in Y.
• HEAVY leads the Scrabble scores at 14 points.

Which final letters appear most often?

E is the standout ending: 21 of the 33 words finish with it. That makes LEAVE, WEAVE, and SHAVE good pattern checks when you know the last tile is E. Y is next, with four matches, including HEAVY and GRAVY.

The remaining endings are A, I, S, and O. BRAVA and GUAVA finish with A, while CHAVS ends in S. The first letters are more evenly spread: C and S lead with five words each, followed by B and G with four apiece.

This mix matters when you are narrowing a clue. If E is ruled out, you still have 12 candidates across five different endings; switching to the opening letter can cut that group further.

How to use 5-letter words with A third and V fourth

For Wordle, the 15 answer-list matches are a small subset of the 33 allowed guesses. Use the fixed AV pair as a filter, then test likely endings: E covers most of the group, while Y gives you a smaller branch. LEAVE and HEAVY also test different opening letters.

For Scrabble, HEAVY scores 14 points, ahead of PEAVY, CHAVS, and CHAVE at 13. The high values come from letters such as H, V, and Y; don’t assume a familiar word beats an unusual one on tile points. Dictionary coverage varies: Collins has 32 matches, compared with 28 in NWL2023 and 27 in ENABLE, so check your game’s word list before playing a less familiar entry.