5-letter words with T as the 2nd letter and U as the 3rd letter

The fixed pattern is _TU__, but the opening letter narrows the search fast: 18 of the 21 entries start with S. STUDY, STUFF, STUCK, STUNT, and STUMP are familiar examples. The set also includes less common forms, so a match to the letter pattern alone does not guarantee acceptance in every game.

At a glance for the T-U pattern

• Exactly 21 five-letter entries have T second and U third across the tournament dictionaries.
• STUDY, STUFF, STUCK, STUNT, and STUMP show the dominant S-T-U opening.
• Eight words in this pattern match the Wordle answer list; the full set has 21 allowed guesses.
• Six entries end in S; E closes three, while K, M, and T each close two.
• Collins includes all 21 entries, compared with 17 each in ENABLE and NWL2023.

How many 5-letter words have T second and U third?

There are 21. The 18 words beginning STU account for most of the set; the remaining three start with E or A. That makes the first letter a quick filter when your puzzle already confirms T and U in those positions.

The endings are uneven, too. S is the most common final letter with six entries, while E appears three times. Among recognizable candidates, STUDY ends in Y, STUCK in K, and STUNT in T, so checking the final square can separate several likely guesses.

Eight entries are Wordle answers, while all 21 appear among its allowed guesses. The answer count is narrower than the guess count, so an accepted guess is not necessarily a possible solution.

Which words score best, and where are they accepted?

For 5-letter words with T as the 2nd letter and U as the 3rd letter, STUFF and STUCK lead the Scrabble scores at 11 points each. STUDY, STUMP, and STUNK score 9 apiece, compared with the group average of 7.

The scoring surprise is that an ordinary-looking word such as STUFF ties STUCK, while a familiar word like STUDY scores less. On a premium square, recalculate the play: the printed base score does not include board bonuses.

Some entries are specialist vocabulary rather than everyday guesses. Collins has four more matches than either ENABLE or NWL2023, so check your game's word list before relying on a less familiar candidate.