5-letter words with P as the 3rd letter and O as the 4th letter

Every match follows the shape with P locked in the third square and O in the fourth. DEPOT and VAPOR are the only Wordle answers and the only two words common enough for everyday talk. Move off those two and the frame turns exotic fast, leaning on K, Y and J tiles that most players never place together.

The P third, O fourth frame at a glance

• 32 matches, and 11 of them close on -OS, from CAPOS and EXPOS to TYPOS.
• DEPOT and VAPOR are the only Wordle answers and the only two everyday words here.
• Collins lists 30 of the 32, NWL2023 has 28 and ENABLE has 23.
• KAPOK tops the list at 15, with EXPOS, KAPOW, YAPOK and JUPON on 14.
• T opens 4 words, and C, G, S and Y open 3 each.

Why do so many of these words end in -OS?

The fourth square is already O, so any word that drops S into the last slot finishes on -OS, and 11 of the 32 do exactly that. CAPOS, EXPOS, HYPOS, LIPOS, REPOS and TYPOS are the plural shapes you already know.

Every other ending is just as narrow. N closes 6 words such as CAPON and GIPON, T closes 4, and R closes 3 including VAPOR and SAPOR. The frame funnels into a few familiar final letters instead of scattering.

That habit makes the pattern a mixed blessing in Wordle. A green O with a stray S cuts the list to 11 candidates in one move, which narrows the board fast but rarely settles it.

Top scorers with P as the 3rd letter and O as the 4th letter

KAPOK leads at 15 points, built on two K tiles, and EXPOS, KAPOW, YAPOK and JUPON follow on 14. YAPOK and JUPON also lean on the Y and J, the two letters most players leave unused.

The average sits at 9.6, higher than a typical five-letter word, because the K and Y endings pull the score up. DEPOT, the most ordinary word here, scores only 8.

KAPOW is the outlier to watch: it lives only in NWL2023, so it is legal in North American play and dead in Collins or ENABLE rooms. Anyone reaching for the top score should know that split before the tiles hit the board.