5-letter words with P as the 1st letter and S as the 3rd letter

The pattern is P _ S _ _, and its choices range from everyday words to less familiar plays. Eleven of the 34 matches rank among common English words. The most frequent endings are S and Y, tied at nine words each, so the final letter quickly narrows your options.

At a glance: the strongest clues

• Thirty-four tournament-dictionary words match P _ S _ _.
• PASTA, PASTE, POSTS, and POSED are familiar examples.
• Nine words end in S and nine end in Y.
• PESKY and PISKY each score 14 in Scrabble before board premiums.

How many 5-letter words have P first and S third?

There are 34 matches across the tournament word lists. Collins includes 32, NWL2023 includes 29, and ENABLE includes 25, so dictionary coverage is not identical. Check your game's word list before playing a less familiar option such as PASHM or PASPY.

Nine of these words are also Wordle answers, and all 34 count as allowed guesses. That makes P _ S _ _ a workable pattern for a Wordle board, but the nine-answer figure is a subset, not a promise that every playable guess is an answer. Familiar options such as PASTE and POSED are easier to recognize than the full set.

The ending counts offer a quick second filter: S and Y each appear nine times, followed by E with five. If your last square is already Y, PESKY, PUSHY, and PASTY are examples to test; an S ending points you toward POSTS, POSES, or PESTS.

For contrast, P _ R _ _ has 98 matches and P _ O _ _ has 84, so fixing S in the third slot sharply trims the search. Twenty-nine matches have dictionary definitions; the remaining five may be less transparent during play.

Using 5-letter words with P as 1st and S as 3rd

• For an everyday guess, start with PASTA, PASTE, or POSTS rather than an obscure entry.
• When score matters, PESKY and PISKY lead at 14 points; PUSHY follows at 13.
• Treat the 11 common words as a practical shortlist, not as the whole legal set.
• Use the fixed letters first, then test the final square: S and Y are tied as the most common endings.