5-letter words with C as the 1st letter and M as the 4th letter

The C and M frame the pattern C??M?, and the second letter splits the list into clear families. CH- and CR- each open 12 words, with CL- and CO- adding nine apiece, so four pairs cover 42 of the 46. Thirteen are Wordle answers, and the average score reaches 10.9.

C-first, M-fourth words at a glance

• Forty-six words hold C first and M fourth.
• CH- and CR- open 12 words each, while CL- and CO- add nine each.
• Sixteen matches end in P or B, so the M often sits before a closed final.
• Ten words are common and thirteen sit in the Wordle answer list.
• Chyme tops the scores at 15, and the group average is 10.9.
• Collins holds 44, NWL2023 34 and ENABLE 30.

Which C-first, M-fourth words are Wordle answers?

The answer pool runs deep here: thirteen of the 46 are Wordle answers, among them champ, chime, chump, clamp, climb, clump, comma, cramp, creme, crime, crimp, crumb and crump. Ten of the words are common, so the family is unusually friendly to everyday players.

All but one match sit in the accepted-guess list, and the C-plus-cluster opening helps when a grid shows C and M in place. Cramp and clamp share the same shell, so a confirmed third letter usually settles which one fits.

Why the M is followed by P or B so often

Sixteen of the 46 matches end in P or B, which shows how often the M prefers a closed consonant after it. The MP row covers champ, chimp, chomp, chump, clamp, clomp, clump, cramp, crimp and crump, while chimb, climb, clomb, coomb, crumb and cromb close on MB.

After P and B the endings thin out: 14 matches finish in S and eight in E. A final S covers crams, clams, chums, calms and corms, so a plural-looking board is a strong hint for this pattern.

Lean on the opening pair