5-letter words with G as the 1st letter and E as the 4th letter

That fixed frame leaves three slots to fill, and the stock leans on everyday inflections. GATES, GAMES, GIVES and GASES are plurals or third-person verbs, while GAZED, GATED, GLUED and GYVED are past tenses. Fifteen matches count as common English, and 71 carry a definition.

Key numbers for the G_E_ list

• Eighty-two matches spread across the tournament word lists.
• S closes 27 matches and D closes 17, so inflections dominate.
• GAZED tops the Scrabble values at 16 points; GAZES and GAZER reach 15.
• Fourteen matches sit on the Wordle answer list, from GIVEN to GREET.
• Fifteen are common English, and 71 of the 82 are defined.

Why the G-E frame fills up with S and D

Two endings account for half the list. GATES, GAMES, GIVES, GLUES and GASES are the S group, and GAZED, GATED, GLUED and GYVED are the D group. Position two is A in 25 matches, more than double the next option, so GAL-, GAM-, GAP- and GAT- carry most of the weight.

That shape trips up pattern solvers. A blank that looks like a plural may be a past tense instead, and both endings share the same cheap letters, so the clue needs a second anchor. Repeated letters are rare: twelve matches double one, and GLEED, GLEES, GREEK, GREEN and GREET all repeat their E.

Wordle answers inside the G-E frame

Fourteen of the 82 matches are Wordle answers: GAMER, GAVEL, GAYER, GAZER, GIVEN, GIVER, GOLEM, GONER, GOOEY, GREED, GREEN, GREET, GRIEF and GRUEL. The group splits cleanly, with four starting GA-, five GR-, three GO- and two GI-. All 82 matches are legal guesses, so the answer list is the narrow end of a wide pool.

Where the entries thin out