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

14 5-letter words with R as the 3rd letter and W as the 5th letter fit this pattern, including THROW, THREW, and SCREW.

14 wordsTop pick THROWHighest score THROW 11

5 of 14 are everyday words (36%). A friendly list: most players will know the top picks.

  • 3rd letter
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z

With R in 3rd place, S is the most common 5th letter (396 words). The bar under each letter shows the size of its list.

  • Length
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15

Best words to play first 14 · most-used first

All valid words 14

A to Z. Includes rare and Collins-only words. Linked tiles open the word's meaning, score and rhymes.

Letters by positionIn 71% of these words the 1st letter is S.
1st letter
  1. S71%
  2. T21%
  3. A7%
2nd letter
  1. H36%
  2. C21%
  3. T21%
4th letter
  1. O43%
  2. E36%
  3. A21%

Highest-scoring words

Scrabble and Words With Friends points, before board bonuses
WordScrabbleWords With FriendsDictionaries
THROW1110All three
THREW1110All three
SHREW1110All three
THRAW1110All three
SHROW1110Collins only
SCREW1011All three
SCRAW1011Collins only
SCROW1011Collins only
SPREW1011Collins only
ARROW88All three
STRAW88All three
STREW88All three

The fixed R and final W leave just 14 tournament-dictionary entries, and their beginnings are unusually concentrated: 10 start with S. Familiar picks such as ARROW and STRAW sit beside less common forms like SEROW and SCROW. All 14 are allowed Wordle guesses, but only six appear among the answers, so an answer match is a smaller set than the full guess list.

Fourteen matches, led by S

  • Fourteen tournament-dictionary words match the pattern.
  • Ten begin with S; three begin with T, and one begins with A.
  • All 14 appear in Collins; ENABLE and NWL2023 each include 10.
  • All 14 qualify as Wordle guesses, while six are listed answers.
  • THROW, THREW, SCREW, ARROW, and STRAW are recognizable examples.

Why does S dominate this pattern?

The strongest practical clue is the first letter: S supplies 10 of the 14 matches, while T contributes three and A contributes one. That makes the search lopsided; trying S first tests most of the list, while an A-starting candidate is the lone exception.

Wordle separates accepted guesses from its answer list here. All 14 matches are allowed guesses, but six are answers. Knowing a word fits the pattern does not establish it is one of those six; treat THROW or ARROW as examples, not confirmed solutions.

Changing only the final letter to S expands the same R-third pattern to 396 matches, against 14 ending in W. That 28-to-1 gap makes W a strong narrowing clue; keep the third-position R fixed when comparing the two searches.

Every match is in Collins, while ENABLE and NWL2023 each include 10. Changing only the final letter to S expands the same R-third pattern to 396 matches, against 14 ending in W. That 28-to-1 gap makes W a strong narrowing clue; keep the third-position R fixed when comparing the two searches.

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

For board play, THROW, THREW, SHREW, THRAW, and SHROW tie for the highest listed Scrabble score at 11 points. SCREW, SCRAW, SCROW, and SPREW each score 10, while ARROW scores 8. The known R and W positions also make these candidates easy to check against an open board.

The catch is familiarity: SEROW, STROW, THRAW, SCROW, SHROW, and SPREW are not everyday choices. Check your game's word list before playing an unfamiliar entry. Matching the pattern alone does not guarantee acceptance in every dictionary.

Questions people ask

Why are there 14 matching words but only six Wordle answers?
Fourteen matching words are allowed Wordle guesses, but only six appear in the answer list. An allowed guess can test the R-and-W pattern without being a possible solution, so the full set is broader than the answer set.
Which matching words score the most in Scrabble?
THROW, THREW, SHREW, THRAW, and SHROW each score 11 points, the highest score among these matches. SCREW, SCRAW, SCROW, and SPREW score 10, while ARROW scores 8.
Are all 14 words valid in every word-game dictionary?
No. Collins includes all 14, but ENABLE and NWL2023 each include 10. That difference matters in tournament play, where the game's dictionary decides whether an unfamiliar word is accepted.

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