5-letter words with R as the 3rd letter and L as the 4th letter

The pattern is _ _ R L _, with familiar matches such as WORLD, EARLY, GIRLS, and CURLY alongside less common words. Collins accepts all 48 matches, while NWL2023 and ENABLE each include 34, so your game's dictionary matters when checking a tournament play. Check before choosing a move.

The R-L pattern at a glance

• The tournament-dictionary list contains 48 five-letter words.
• Collins has 48 matches; NWL2023 and ENABLE each have 34.
• S ends 26 matches, compared with 13 ending in Y.
• M is the most common first letter, with 8 words; C follows with 6.
• JARLS leads the Scrabble scores at 12 points.

Which endings and starting letters appear most?

The ending is the clearest split: 26 words finish in S, while 13 finish in Y. Another 7 end in E, and D and I appear once each. WORLD, which ends in D, is therefore a less typical match than GIRLS or CURLY.

Starting letters are more spread out: M leads with 8 matches, followed by C with 6, while B and G each begin 5. When R and L are fixed but the first two spaces remain open, try those leading letters first. Across the set, the average score is 7.8 points.

Can these R-L words fit Wordle or Scrabble?

Six matches are Wordle answers, and all six also appear in tournament dictionaries; 48 matches are allowed guesses. The answer set is much smaller than the guess list, so a valid pattern match is not automatically an answer. WORLD, EARLY, and GIRLS are recognizable candidates to test against your clues.

JARLS scores 12 points in Scrabble, ahead of HURLY and FERLY at 11. CURLY, BURLY, and MARLY each score 10. Collins accepts more matches than NWL2023 or ENABLE, so check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry.