5-letter words with O as the 2nd letter and F as the 4th letter

The pattern is _O_F_, so the first and last letters stay open while O and F are fixed. Collins includes all 40 matches, but ENABLE and NWL2023 include 26 each. Just 3 meet the common-word frequency cutoff, so expect plenty of specialist vocabulary alongside recognizable words.

5-letter words with O as 2nd and F as 4th: key facts

• There are 40 tournament-dictionary matches; Collins includes all 40.
• ENABLE and NWL2023 each include 26 of the matching words.
• Only 3 matches count as common by the word-frequency measure.
• A final S appears in 27 words; Y is the next most common ending, with 7.
• Two matches are Wordle answers, and all 40 are allowed guesses.

Why do so many matches end in S?

The final S is the standout pattern: 27 of the 40 words end with it. Familiar examples include ROOFS, GOOFS, HOOFS, and GOLFS, so checking S in the last slot is a sensible first move when the clue permits it.

Y trails far behind with 7 endings, while F appears at the end of 4 words. The small common-word count is a warning against guessing from familiarity alone: many matches are less everyday than COMFY or GOOFY.

The first-letter spread is less lopsided: G begins 6 matches, C and H begin 5 each, and B and P start 4 apiece. No opening letter rivals the final S in frequency. Once O and F are fixed, use the first and last positions to narrow the remaining choices.

Which O-second, F-fourth words score most?

HOWFF leads the score ranking at 17 points. COMFY and KOFFS tie next at 15, while WOOFY and TOFFY score 14; unusual letter combinations can pay off in a word game.

Changing only the fourth letter from F to E expands the matching set from 40 words to 436. That sharp contrast shows how restrictive F is in this position. A Collins entry is not guaranteed to appear in every game's dictionary, so check your game's word list.