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

Set the pattern as _O_Z_: O is fixed in position two, and Z in position four. The remaining slots are the first, third, and final letters, but this group is far smaller than a nearby pattern: putting E in the fourth slot produces 436 matches. Only two entries meet the common-word frequency cutoff, so most results are unfamiliar; check your game’s dictionary before relying on a play.

The O-Z pattern at a glance

• Exactly 21 tournament-dictionary entries match O in slot two and Z in slot four.
• Collins lists 20 matches; NWL2023 lists 9, and ENABLE lists 7.
• Only 2 entries meet the common-word frequency cutoff.
• Three are Wordle answers, while all 21 are allowed guesses.
• POZZY leads the Scrabble scores at 28 points.

Which entries score best on a Scrabble rack?

POZZY earns 28 points, ahead of WOOZY, YOWZA, and TOWZY at 20 each. BOOZY scores 19, while DOOZY and COBZA each score 18. That makes POZZY the standout for a rack with high-value letters, even before a premium square changes the total.

Starting letters narrow the search further: T begins five matches, B begins four, and C begins three. At the other end, seven finish in E; A and Y each finish six. Only one ends in O and one in U, so a final-vowel clue sharply cuts the candidates.

The 17.4-point average sits well below POZZY’s 28, so the top score is not typical of the group. Treat the score leaders as clues to premium-letter potential, not a promise of a high-scoring rack.

How does this pattern narrow Wordle guesses?

Wordle’s answer list has three matches, while all 21 entries are accepted guesses. That distinction matters: an allowed guess can test whether the O-Z pattern fits without being a possible solution. Keep the answer list and guess list separate when narrowing a board.

For 5-letter words with O as the 2nd letter and Z as the 4th letter, use _O_Z_ as a filter, then apply any known first, third, or final letter. If the Z clue is uncertain, switch to the O-second, E-fourth pattern: its 436 matches give far more room to test other letters.