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

The fixed pattern is _O__U: O sits in slot two, and U closes every word. C and P each start three entries, the largest first-letter groups; K and V each start two. None falls into the common-word group, so expect a specialist set rather than familiar everyday guesses.

How many 5-letter words have O second and U fifth?

• Fourteen tournament-dictionary entries fit _O__U; the dictionary counts overlap rather than add up.
• Every match ends in U, so the final tile cannot separate candidates.
• C and P lead the first-letter groups with three words each; K and V follow with two apiece.
• All 14 are allowed Wordle guesses, but none appears in the answer list.

Which matching words score highest?

PONZU and HOKKU tie for the top score at 16. Both pack high-value consonants into a short word, making them standouts when the board gives you room to place those letters. The tie also means the best choice depends on which opening fits your rack and the available squares.

KOMBU scores 13, COYPU 12, and KONBU 11. VODOU and FONDU each score 9, so the strongest plays are not simply the longest-looking or most familiar entries. Remember the spelling contrast between KOMBU and KONBU when checking a possible fit.

Which dictionaries include these words?

Collins includes 13 matches, NWL2023 includes 11, and ENABLE includes 6. Those sets overlap, so their counts do not represent separate groups. Check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry; none of these words is in the common-word group.

Treat 5-letter words with O as the 2nd letter and U as the 5th letter as a pattern clue, not a familiarity test. Ten matches have definitions, leaving several entries that may be hard to recognize from memory. With no answer-list matches, this pattern suits letter testing better than guessing a likely solution.

The U ending is unusually restrictive beside other O-second patterns: endings in S have 707 matches and endings in Y have 274, compared with just 14 here. Lock O and U into place first, then test C or P before the smaller starting-letter groups. That starting-letter check divides this compact set more sharply than testing the shared final U.