5-letter words with P as the 2nd letter and S as the 5th letter

Only 44 tournament-dictionary words fit this exact pattern, and the shape leans heavily toward an S at the front: 27 begin SP-. Familiar matches include OPENS, SPOTS, SPURS, and SPIES. Only seven qualify as common by frequency, so treat this filter as a mix of familiar plays and specialist vocabulary.

The P-and-S pattern at a glance

• 44 entries match P in position two and S at the end in at least one tournament dictionary.
• Collins includes all 44; ENABLE and NWL2023 include 30 each.
• 27 begin SP-, while 8 begin AP-.
• Only 7 matches rank among common English words; none are Wordle answers.
• SPIKS and SPEKS top the tile scores at 11 points each.

How many 5-letter words have P second and S fifth?

Start with the SP- cluster: 27 words begin with SP, including SPOTS, SPURS, SPIES, SPINS, SPANS, SPITS, SPECS, and SPUDS. That cluster supplies most of the familiar-looking candidates, but familiarity varies: only seven matches overall fall in the common-frequency group. The count covers the full pattern, not just SP-.

Other openings are much thinner: eight entries start AP-, while E, O, and U account for smaller groups. OPENS and EPICS show the pattern outside the dominant cluster. If your first tile is not S, check A before spending time on rare initial letters; 744 five-letter matches use A rather than P in position two and still end in S.

Can you use these words in Wordle or Scrabble?

All 44 entries are allowed Wordle guesses, but zero are in its answer list. That makes the pattern useful for testing a known placement, not for expecting a solution. With P fixed second and S at the end, OPENS and SPOTS test different letters while keeping both positions in place.

For 5-letter words with P as the 2nd letter and S as the 5th letter, the top tile scores belong to less familiar plays: SPIKS and SPEKS score 11 points each, while SPEWS, APHIS, and SPIVS score 10. Check your game's word list before relying on those high scorers; strong tile value does not make a word familiar.