5-letter words with I as the 1st letter and R as the 5th letter

The pattern is unusually tight: just 14 tournament-dictionary entries begin with I and finish with R. INNER, INTER, INCUR, and INFER are recognizable choices; only four entries rank among the commonest English words. Dictionary coverage also varies: Collins has all 14, while NWL2023 has 13 and ENABLE has 12.

At a glance: I-start, R-ending words

• Four of the 14 matches are common English words.
• All 14 appear in Collins; 13 appear in NWL2023 and 12 in ENABLE.
• Five entries match the raw Wordle answer list and tournament dictionaries.
• ICKER leads the scores at 11; ICHOR follows at 10.

How many 5-letter words have I first and R fifth?

Fourteen five-letter words satisfy both fixed positions, from familiar INNER and INCUR to less familiar ITHER, IMBAR, and ICKER. The pattern has far fewer matches than S…R, which has 88, and fewer than I…S, which has 32. That contrast makes the final R a strong narrowing clue, but it does not make every answer familiar: only four entries meet the common-word cutoff.

Dictionary coverage is not identical: Collins includes 14 entries, NWL2023 includes 13, and ENABLE includes 12. Eleven entries have definitions. Treat the result as a candidate pool, then check your game's word list before playing a less familiar form such as ICKER or IMBAR; tournament inclusion does not mean universal recognition.

Which I…R words score highest?

ICKER tops the scores at 11, ahead of ICHOR at 10; INKER and IMBAR tie at 9. The 7.6 average sits below ICKER, so the lead scorer is an outlier rather than a typical result.

Five entries match both the Wordle answer list and tournament dictionaries, while the allowed-guess count is 14. This pattern is more useful after several letters are known than as an opening filter: fixed I and R already constrain the candidate set sharply.