5-letter words with P as the 4th letter and S as the 5th letter

The fixed P-S ending leaves three letters to solve. Familiar matches include steps, keeps, ships, stops, and shops, but only 44 words in the set are common English words. For a puzzle, start with recognizable options; for a rack, keep the less familiar high scorers in reserve.

P-S words at a glance

• The pattern _ _ _ P S matches 184 five-letter words.
• Common examples include helps, steps, keeps, and ships.
• Jumps, quips, and quops each score 16 Scrabble points before board bonuses.
• S starts 26 matching words; C is next with 19.
• There are 183 allowed Wordle guesses in the set, but no answers.

How many P-S words work across dictionaries?

Collins includes 182 matches, NWL2023 has 132, and ENABLE has 127. These dictionaries overlap, so their counts should not be added together; the overall set contains 184 words.

For Wordle, none of these words are answers, though 183 are allowed guesses. The 44 common entries are a more sensible place to start when you need a recognizable match.

Which P-S words should you try first?

Try helps, steps, keeps, ships, stops, shops, drops, or trips when you want familiar words. S begins 26 matches and C begins 19, so check those opening letters early when they fit your clues.

For Scrabble, jumps, quips, and quops lead at 16 points. Jeeps, jaups, jaaps, jarps, and jasps score 14. Those options are less familiar, so check your game's word list before playing one.

How does P-S compare with nearby patterns?

With S still at the end, E in the fourth spot gives 719 matches and T gives 385, compared with 184 for P. P is a narrower clue than either of those common endings.

If P is fixed but the final letter is uncertain, P-Y has 79 matches and P-E has 46. For 5-letter words with P as the 4th letter and S as the 5th letter, lock in the last two tiles, then test the first three.